West Horsley Place is an ancient 400-acre estate located between Guildford and Leatherhead.
At its heart stands a Grade I listed manor house dating from the 15th century. The house is framed by a 5-acre walled garden as well as ancient woodlands, farmland and meadow beyond.
It is known across the world has ‘Button House’ from the highly popular BBC sitcom Ghosts.
For over 600 years it was a private family home. However recently it has started opening up its doors for visitors. With incredible stories in a building with layers of history, it is a wonderful place to discover. Henry VIII had dinner there, it has the oldest plasterwork ceiling in the country, Elizabeth I visited more than once and there is a legend that, when her husband was beheaded, Elizabeth Raleigh carried his head around in a red velvet bag found in the Drawing Room.
The new charity that now own the estate put heritage, culture and nature at its heart and believe the site should be for the whole community. A programme of events is available all year around for you and your family to enjoy.
Visit the house and understand its history on an Open Day, which they hold approximately once a month, or take a guided Film Tour to see all the locations used in Ghosts. They run craft, art and pottery workshops and hold a series of talks with popular authors.
For families, they also have family fun days on Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays of each school holiday. Children can explore the ground floor of the manor house and take part in seasonal activities, which might be an Easter trail or autumn crafts.
At Christmas volunteers lavishly decorate the Manor House for Father Christmas to visit and families are welcomed to see him in the beautiful study.
Other weekend festivals across the year might include wellbeing festivals, nature festivals or living history events with experts in historical dress, weapons, or crafts.
Take a look at their website to find out what’s coming up. Westhorsleyplace.org.
