Stanmer House

Everything about the environment here is storybook perfection. From the drive in and entrance facing the luscious green grounds to the welcoming fireplace and cozy seating area contribute to the full star rating. The staff are very kind and courteous. Guests have choices too. Sit in the dining area, the tearoom, the lounge, or in the pub. Menu choices change often depending on what’s fresh and many are from local sources. We have tried small plates, main dishes, salads, and desserts. Everyone left their dishes licked clean. My favorite so far is the salmon, exquisite! Wine selection also admirable. Often from boutique vineyards rather than larger productions making it fun to explore the menu. One more point about our frequent visits here, we have come with small groups and large, with younger and older friends, everyone seems to enjoy the place. And very dog friendly!

NOTHING MORE THAN A REALLY EXPENSIVE WETHERSPOON Wow, where to start? Firstly as a professional Chef myself I was actually ashamed the guys in the kitchen call themselves chefs as there was obviously so little care and attention over their food. Moreover I was appalled that the menu actually purported to celebrate British food as it clearly doesn’t, unless they mean ready meals. My partner and myself stopped off for a bite to eat at Stammer house on a Friday evening and the place was deserted (we can now see why) and in all honesty the beautiful house and surroundings is hiding the fact that it is basically an expensive Wetherspoons. My partner had the Sussex Cod and Chips with Homemade Tartar Sauce and Chunky Chips £13.95 (£9.95 for a small) and small merlot at £4.30 that was advised by the waitress but was quite oxidized like it had been open for a day or so. When her food arrived it honestly didn’t look that bad. However, as she explored each component on the plate she seemed to enjoy her food less to the point where I asked her what was wrong to which she asked me to taste it. The cod was defiantly cooked from frozen and slightly stale and was so tasteless that I thought that they were serving a cheap fish like Coley on the sly, but inspecting the skin you could see that it was definitely Cod. This was hardly a way to celebrate British produce and was definitely a way to waste a diminishing resource. The Home-​made Tartar sauce was bought in cheap mayonnaise with one or two flecks of capers, no gherkin and shallots cut way too chunky, so the only discernible taste apart from cheap mayo was the occasional bite of raw onion. However, the major problem with this component is that that home-​made means Home-​made not, Buy in the main body and then garnish badly. Chunky Chips some were hard and under cooked and none of them hot Mushy Peas, they like many chefs confuse mushy pea with pea purée and made the latter and Ok this really doesn’t matter but my main problem was that they were pea in colour not taste as they were watery and grainy. This was not only expensive fish and chips it was by far and away the worst I have eaten in a long while. If you’re looking for good pub style Fish and chips, visit the guys at Pub Du Vin it is slightly cheaper and uses fresh ingredients to make it one of the best F&C in Bton. Then we come to my Cajun chicken Burger which cost £12.95. without the chips which I skipped and asked for a salad instead. If they were as bad as my partner’s then I dodged a bullet there. However, my chips were subbed for a plain bowl of leaf, no tomato onion or the like leaving me with a huge bowl or rabbit food but at least there was the burger. However on inspection my burger was only consisted of half a chicken fillet and a small one at that. The chicken apart from the fact that in my £13 burger there was about 75P– £1 worth of chicken in it was also really flavourless. Not frozen this time but really if I was asked to describe the taste it would be Hmm, not quite sure it doesn’t taste of much and definitely could have benefited from some proper spicing, if they are to call it Cajun as I would call it bland. I have definitely had far better burgers for far far less. For a decent burger at a fraction of the price try the Old Bank (Hove or Kemptown) but to be honest any one of Brighton’s kebab houses that don’t serve deep-​fried giant chicken nuggets as burgers definitely serves a better burger. Then there was the service and, sorry to compare this with Wetherspoons again, but come on guys, this was shocking. I have never sat in an actual restaurant where I felt actively ignored which actually increased as soon as it was plain that we were not enjoying our meal. I’ll quickly skip over the fact that on a quiet night 20– 25 covers it took roughly 10 minutes and 5 different staff members at least walking past without even welcoming us or saying that they would be with us in a minute to get a table. Later when asking for oil and balsamic to dress my salad I was brought out vegetable oil and something sweet and black and blatantly not balsamic, the combination of which is revolting. Once I had managed to hail my magic disappearing waitress, as she was obviously not going to come anywhere near our table in the near deserted dining room, she told me that it was oil and balsamic reduction like it should be a treat (if this is a treat I’m so glad we left after only one course and skipped desert) Firstly, veg oil is revolting to taste in its raw form and should only be used for cooking and secondly that was not balsamic and I’m so glad that I didn’t order anything with balsamic reduction as this may have led to me stalking the halls hunting for a waitress to complain to. She then returned with olive oil and balsamic and a comment on my disapproval (literally, I had to get a glass from the other table to pour off about a of a pint of olive oil to get at the balsamic she was obviously taking the micky) before

The guy on front of house shouldn’t be there as he dislikes women and dogs. He is very bitchy and maybe should work somewhere away from the public. Apart from being made to feel unwelcome by him it was lovely. Stamner house get rid of him he is vile

Ddmj1962 has already covered the history and other relevant facts in his usual high standard. My contribution is that this establishment has now been taken over by Whiting and Hammond, a small pub based company in the South East.
We only discovered this as we are looking for a wedding venue for next year, and looked at Stanmer House.
Lovely building and has been well refurbished. The food could be seen as a bit pricey ie Bangers and Mash is about £12.00p, soup of the day about £6−00p.not cheap.
Christams Day lunch = £65 for 4 courses! We didn’t stay to check out the foodtime was pressing.
Can’t see us going back to eat.

If venturing out into the country for walk and pub lunch I really recommend this place. The park is beautiful lovely woodland and views across fields, also a pretty little village to walk through. I’ve been walking here for years but was thrilled when the house turned into a bar and restaurant and opened its’ doors to the public. Great ale and great food. Really family friendly and also dog/​muddy boots friendly despite seeming quite posh with its’ grand entrance hall and open log fires. Really welcoming all round. They do a great roasts, as well as bar food like Ploughmans if you want s/​thing smaller. Also a delicious cream tea can be had.

Stanmer House is set within a large country park just outside Brighton on the A27 on the way to Lewes. It is a converted manor house built-​in the 1700’s. Dogs are welcome in the lobby area with plenty of large comfortable leather sofa’s and a fantastic open log fire and in the bar area. When we arrived we were offered a bowl of water for the dogs by the very helpful and friendly staff. I can highly recommended this venue for a relaxing pint after a long walk with the dogs around the park.

Built in 1722 and renovated in 2004, Stanmer house is a classic building with rooms and grounds available for hire. Whether you’re planning a wedding, selecting a venue for an important presentation or organising a corporate event it’s got all the facilities you’ll need. Located near Sussex University, just north of Brighton, it’s easily accessible via the no.25 bus or by car, as it’s just off the A27.
Even if you’ve not got endless cash to splash you can enjoy a walk through the grounds followed by a relaxing cup of tea or perhaps something a little stiffer from the bar. It’s quite possibly one of Brighton’s finest gems.

From the outside, it’s a beautiful and unexpected edition to a quick little walk away from the Sussex campus, and on the inside its a grand regency space which can be a great place to hire as a wedding or party venue.
It all started in 1713 when Henry Pelham of Lewes bought 5000 acres of Stanmer Park for £7500, which won’t now pay for 3 years of Uni! In 1722 his son had the actual house built. Various Earls lived in it until WWII, where the John Buxton was killed, leading the house into years of neglect. But in 2004 it was all renovated, and now it stands proud and tall.
I would certainly recommend going in on an open day, and absorbing the grandeur of days gone by.

This grade I listed 18^th century Palladian style mansion is situated in the Stanmer Park and a stone’s throw away from the University of Sussex’s campus. In fact, the university was built in what once were the grounds of this decadent manor house. The house was sadly left to fall into disrepair for much of the 19^th century, but it reopened to the public in 2006. Today, much like other old houses, it’s mainly used as a venue for weddings and functions, though it is open to the public on Tuesday. Go inside and you’ll find all the high ceilings, chandeliers and oil paintings you could want. Unfortunately you wont find most of the original furnishings, and the bulk of the furnishings now consist of modern tables and chairs in the rooms up for hire. But all in all, an attractive site and resource to Brighton which it’s great to see back up and running.

Stanmer House was built in 1720 for the first Earl of Chichester, Thomas Pelham by the architect Nicholas Dubois. It’s a quintessential English country house, built in a restrained classical style, and set in 5,000 acres of parkland — also landscaped in the classical English style.
The House itself incorporated part of the house of the previous owners of the estate, the Michelborne family, who were connected with the manor (then called Audwick) as early as 1594. The new house was in the restrained Classical style so popular for English country houses, with little adornment. A later extension to the right wing has spoiled the symmetry somewhat, but the ensemble is still handsome enough.
Although most of the contents were dispersed when the House was sold to the Council, the ground floor interiors of this Grade 1 listed building are reasonably well preserved and tastefully decorated, and worth a look — the main function rooms of the house are open to visitors for free when not in use. Among other things, they contain a midly diverting collection of old photographs, but most of the original contents have long since gone — however, the modern furnishings fit in well enough in a ‘Country House Hotel’ sort of way.
The grounds are now owned by Brighton City Council as Stanmer Park (see separate entry), but the house has been retained as a conference and events venue, and specialises in special dinners, weddings and similar events. The venue is licensed for Civil Ceremonies.
I have only visited the house as a tourist so can’t comment first hand on service etc. or as a conference or event venue. But it has a good reputation locally, albeit at a price: wedding packages here start around £140 per guest (up to 140 with a marquee), but it’d be a pretty memorable!