Homme House, Much Marcle

“Buildings are storytellers. They teach us about our history, good and bad. They tell stories about people.”
George Clarke
Homme House Estate dates back to the 14th century, when it was owned by the Mortimers, who rose to fame through Roger Mortimer’s affair with Isabella, wife of Edward II, who was imprisoned in Berkeley Castle and murdered there in 1327.
The current owners can trace their family ownership back to 1574, so there’s plenty of family connections here. My only family connection is that my father was a butler here for a short time in 1939, but that was strong enough for me to want to visit.
Over the centuries the house has been substantially altered, including re-facing with red brick and stone in the middle of the 19th century, seeing wartime use as a hospital during World War II. My father was butler at Spring Grove House (now in West Midlands Safari Park) at the time and recalls the wounded officers in the grounds.
Generations of under-investment and lack of maintenance had taken its toll by the end of the 1990’s when the current owners took a leap of faith to restore it, opening it as a wedding venue in 2004 to fund the restoration.