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London Evening Standard Article September 1999
A superior class of
bed and breakfast by Rosalind Russell
If you'd like to be knee-deep in polished veneer and inherited antiques but can't afford the grand manor, the next best thing is to take a break amid the armorial splendour of a family which has opened up its visitors' wing to paying guests. Owners keen to share their tapestry wall hangings and four- posters in return for some funds towards upkeep include gentlemen farmers, antique dealers, members of the peerage with high-maintenance ancestral seats, and a remarkably large proportion of retired naval and army officers.
Thornham Hall, Suffolk
Lesley,
Lady Henniker-Major began taking paying guests at Thornham Hall when she found herself alone with five children to bring up.
"I do it for the money," she says cheerfully. "I've got a nine-bedroom house and five kids, the youngest of whom is 14. I also have
six horses of my own and six which I keep as paying guests. I offer hunting in the winter season. The children compete in the summer."
There are three double rooms for guests in the Hall, a 20th century house built upon a much older property, part of which burned down in the 1940s.
Surrounded by stables, its facade covered in creeper and a period water tower standing in the grounds, it is very much an
English country house, all wood and stone downstairs, with Persian rugs and Oriental ceramics.
Guests, says Lesley, have the run of the "best end" of the house. She used to join them for dinner, but says: "I put on so much
weight in the first year of doing this, I had to stop. It really depends if the guests want us to join them. With my children and all
their friends, we are generally 15 sitting down to dinner, so they may not want to eat with us. I do all the cooking." Lesley has
a reputation as an unconventional cook, she admits with a hearty laugh. "I can't read a recipe. I use whatever's available.
I was brought up in the Far East so I like Asian food. "I went to Australia at 16 and stayed there for five years and travelled
around the Far East before returning home.
Her father-in-law, the late Lord Henniker, opened 13 miles of rides and walks and a field centre on the estate,
which includes parkland and formal gardens. Guests are free to explore. Most stay for three or four
days. They can stay in the suite with the four-poster bed,
or possibly the Blue Room, with the promise of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs for breakfast.
"I get all sorts. Politicians with their wives, politicians without their wives, City people and Japanese. I love it.
I had to earn some money, but the people are fun and they appreciate my cooking.
© Associated Newspapers Ltd., 18 August 1999
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