Buried treasure

You may of seen our Facebook post last week showing Sir Benjamin Slade and our groundstaff with the Cromwellian lobster tail helmet newly discovered on the grounds of Maunsel House.



The story created a huge buzz and the phones have been ringing off the hook with enquires from TV and magazine journalists eager to know more about the find. We did a bit of research ourselves on the the history of Maunsel and how this helmet may of come to rest on the Maunsel House grounds.

Records show that Richard Maunsel was killed by the roundheads (he was a royalist) and that Maunsel House was sold by John Maunsel (his son) and Elizabeth (his wife) on 6th Nov 1648 which would tie in with the reigh of the roundheads.

Sir Benjamin also added, “Legend has it that round head soldiers disappeared (at Maunsel) and were secretly buried here.”

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Lizzie and Sam

In today’s blog we catch up with Chloé Browne from Caught the light Photography.
Chloe was on hand to capture the wedding of Lizzie and Sam at the beautiful Somerset wedding venue, Maunsel House.

“A pretty weekend in Somerset, where the sky shone down so bright. A man and a woman were dressed to be married, beneath sunshine and perfect light. Four bridesmaids, three speeches, two families, one day, these two made me smile deep inside. This is the job that I love so much, picture memories of a groom and his bride.

A ginormous thank you to Lizzie & Sam for having me photograph their wedding. Their friends, family and tangible excitement made their day one of my favourites. Thanks also to the exceptionally organised Liddy at Maunsel House, for her skills and radiance. I’ve never met an event lady lovelier than Liddy.

To see a little more of this wedding, head on over to Rock My Wedding where I’m making my debut. Thanks for your most excellent wedding report, Lolly.

Up next, we’re coming back to the city for a very London wedding with an incredible dress, a sexy bride and yet another handsome groom, followed by a wedding in Spain by my lovely Emma Jane, who just got engaged to her rather dashing actor… Love is well and truly in the air!”

For the full album and more amazing Photography, please go to Caught the light photography

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An evening with Glenda Bayley

Back by popular demand!

The highly talented Glenda Bayley will be returning to Woodlands Castle for another memorable evening of clairvoyance on Thursday 28th March from 7pm - tickets £10.00 per person.

A fantastic evening and all proceeds will go to Macmillan Cancer Care.

For tickets call us on 01823 444955

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New mini-bus for North Newton Primary School

TREMENDOUS fundraising efforts at a village school have helped secure a brand new minibus.
North Newton Primary School has bought a 17-seater minibus, having raised £24,000 in less than a year.

Head teacher David Gliddon paid tribute to parents, children and members of the community who rallied behind the fundraising drive, in particular Andrew O'Connor, parent and governor, who chaired the minibus fund.

The following organisations and events were among those which helped coin in the cash: City Plumbing, 3 Peaks Challenge, Newt Fest, Maunsel House, EDF Energy, Sedgemoor District Council's Community Fund, Somerset Community Foundation, Readathon, Duck Race, 100 Club, Wroth Charity.

The minibus is used to provide free transport for weekly swimming sessions in Taunton, sporting events, theatre and educational trips, and residential visits.

The school has a second minibus, which means a whole class can be taken out without the need to hire extra transport.

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Hannah Marie and Matt

Today we look back at the fantastic Wedding of Hannah-Marie and Matt here at Maunsel House.
We caught up with the happy couple who shared with us their thoughts and feelings of the big day!

Pictures come courtesy of Helen Lisk Photography.

"Matt and I were both at the University of Bristol and we met through the university Pantomime Society. Our characters ended up as a couple at the end of our first show – it was clearly meant to be! We were together for two years, including a year where Matt was studying in the U.S., before Hannah proposed and three years later we married.

The quirky, unique nature of Maunsel House really appealed to us – it seemed just the place to complement our own rather eccentric personalities. We needed hardly any decoration as the house is brimming with fantastic furnishings as it is. Our favourite place was the old pub style bar, full of a selection of disarmed guns – great for photos!

We're both quite theatrical people, so our inspiration was the Italian Commedian dell'Arte (masquerade). From that we chose our colour scheme (gold, black, ivory) and we used our collection of Venetian masks in the décor – along with some silly photo-prop masks for our guests to try on at the wedding breakfast! We kept the Commedia theme in our evening entertainment, which included a selection of old-fashioned tabletop games and a limbo set. Also, as our wedding was in December, we had mince pies and mulled wine as appetisers, crackers on the table, and Christmas carols during the service.

We fell in love with the gorgeous St Michael chapel in the Maunsel grounds and knew straight away we wanted to get married there. The wreaths in the church were actually left over from a wedding two days before – but we liked them so kept them for our wedding too!

Helen Lisk, our photographer, was absolutely fantastic. We and all our guests have been singing her praises. We loved meeting her before the wedding for our Engagement shoot – she is so friendly and helpful and made us feel totally at ease. On the big day, she worked incredibly hard, running around all over the grounds to get the best photos she could and it definitely paid off. We're thrilled to bits with our wedding photos and would highly recommend Helen to anyone!

We didn't use a florist, but instead bought twigs and branches sprayed white/gold to lay on the tables, along with fairy lights, baubles and table confetti.  We opted for a Croquembouche supplied by Lick the Spoon – a tower of profiteroles wrapped in caramel – decorated with playing card suits and topped with chocolate roses. We wanted something a bit different and felt the Croquembouche fitted with the alternative, playful feel of our day. As the base, we had a dairy-free ginger and dark chocolate cake for our lactose intolerant guests, or those who didn't like profiteroles. Both cakes were delicious and had everyone going back for more!

The best advice for your wedding day is probably just to remember why you're getting married. When things got very stressful, we seemed to become even stronger as a pair. A lot of people warned us about how difficult it is trying to find compromises and make everyone happy – and they weren't wrong! It's true that a wedding isn't just about the bride and groom (that's what the honeymoon is for) and not everything will be exactly as you hope. It'll probably be little things you weren't necessarily expecting that you enjoy the most – like our impromptu limbo tournament and the best man's 'alternative' speech. But just keep the expectation of saying "I will" at the forefront of your mind and look forward to the days ahead, when you get to introduce yourselves as a married couple.

Something we'd really recommend is setting aside some time for just the two of you on the day. When we got back from the church, we sat in the bar by the fire and had a drink before going in to the reception. It was another of our favourite moments and just gave us a little bit of time to let it sink in that we were married."

Photography: www.helenliskphotography.co.uk
Cake: www.liskthespoon.co.uk
Cars: Premier Carriage Company of Bournemouth
Catering: Posh Nosh

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Food glorious food

Every recipe tells a story and every family has one – a recipe that tugs at your heart strings, makes you laugh, brings back memories and sums up all that’s great about food – its ability to delight our senses, bring people together and spread joy and happiness.

That’s what Food Glorious Food is all about.

Food Glorious Food is a competition for budding cooks – and the prize couldn’t be more mouth-watering – the winner gets to see their dish on the shelves of Marks & Spencer stores all over the UK as well as receiving a cash prize of £20,000.

The creators have scoured the country in search of a very special dish that everyone in Britain will, for the first time ever, be able to buy and eat in stores nationwide.

In each of the regional episodes Carol Vorderman tours the country in search of the great and the good plus she finds out what – or who – inspired them to enter. Was it a proud parent, a pushy partner or a delighted dinner guest?

Dishes prepared, each contestant has to face one of the Food Glorious Food judges: globe-trotting gastronome Loyd Grossman, food writer and Historian Tom Parker Bowles, self-taught baker extrordinaire Stacie Stewart and WI top brass Anne Harrison. Each judge will hand out rosettes to the dishes they feel most delight the senses and capture the imagination, but before the day is out they must each choose their dish of the day.

The show recently aired it’s pilot episode and the next programme features our very own, Sir Benjamin Slade.
Sir Ben will be making a family recipe, “Aunt Freda’s Maunsel Pudding”

“Aunt Freda was a chocoholic” Sir Ben tells us.
“She invented this chocolatey version of Apple crumble and although it is a family recipe, it had never been written down so I had to re-create it (with a bit of trial and error!). It brings back childhood memories and I like to serve it to family and friends who always wolf it down!”

 

Be sure to tune in to the next episode, featuring Sir Benjamin Slade, on Wednesday 6th March at 8pm
TV listing

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Casamento

After our hugely successful open weekend earlier this month, we have been taking a look back and featuring some of the brilliant suppliers who made the day so special.
Today we catch up with Casamento, the home of wedding photography by Joe Short in Bath, who took the time to tell us a bit more about himself and his work.

"I photographed my first wedding when I was 17 (and have often thought "brave client" since!), but it went really well and I was asked to shoot more weddings from that day onwards. I was shooting on medium format film cameras mostly. Having spent long hours hand processing and printing images in the darkroom, I got some really good experience before moving into digital capture.

I operate as a reportage documentary photographer, working much more in the background, capturing moments as they happen naturally. It's obviously crucial to get photographs that the couple can treasure for ever, but not at the cost of an overbearing photographer on the day. Remembering why we are all there is something that can get get lost in the build up and fuss and I always encourage couples not to worry (come the day) and to just concentrate on each other.

I utterly love the buzz of a wedding. It's totally special for the couple getting married and their guests and family - but it's also special for me. Telling the story of a day that they have probably imagined their whole lives is a real honour. It’s a wedding, not a photo shoot. My part is to capture stunning images of the couple, their friends and family in a relaxed and unobtrusive way. I would want everyone to remember their wedding day for being both incredibly special and really good fun!"

Please enjoy below a collection of images from 3 Maunsel House weddings shot by Casamento

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