First off a bit of context – our friends Alex (one of the brains behind the amazing – Design Box London) and Jamie invited us to celebrate their birthday and I’m pretty sure I RSVP’d even before I received the invite! Celebration time with these two is always bound to be fun. I still have lots more photos from our skiing weekend and New Year’s Eve party (to mention but a few) to prove that… Plus they’re the ones who ruined Georgia, Chris, Lloyd and I before our early flight out to Santorini with their amazing wedding celebrations but I digress….
Right, so where is this amazing place? It’s a quaint property set in Warwickshire called the Lord Leycester Hospital. Not sure why the name as it’s never actually been a medical hospital (nor does it look like one). It was founded as a home for servicemen who had served under Robert Dudley ‘Lord Leycester’ (actually Earl of Leicester and favourite of Elizabeth the 1st) but the buildings pre-dates the Elizabethans as they were initially the home of the Guilds of Warwick. It officially dates from the late 14th Century clustered round the Norman gateway into the town with its 12th Century Chantry Chapel above it and is still a home to old service men and they serve as ‘the Brethren’ while Jamie’s dad, Gerald (or as Jamie likes to call him “Geraldo” *in complete Spanish accent*) is ‘The Master’.
The Lord Leycester Hospital is actually available to rent as they do weddings, civil ceremonies and other events so you can actually immerse yourself in this quaint little bit of England! The Master also does tours around the property and is available for speaking engagements if you want to take a deep dive into the history and heritage of the property!The Lord Leycester Hospital survives solely on public visitors to the buildings and gardens with no other support and is a rather unique and amazing way to spend some time when you visit England (or indeed if you already live in England!).
Anyway, here are the photos as promised – including some of us all dressed up and ready to do what comes before Part-B… (Part-Aaaay!) 🙂 🙂 🙂 Hehehe!!!
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