Haycock Manor to relaunch following multimillion-pound investment under new owner

Haycock Manor hotel in Wansford, Cambridgeshire, is relaunching on 22 June under new ownership following a multimillion-pound investment.

The Grade II-listed property had been operated by Macdonald Hotels & Resorts since 2012 and owned by Judith Carter since 2003, who put it on the market for £1.4m in 2019.

The new owner is Haycock Limited, of which Emma Cloude is listed as a person with significant control on Companies House.

The first phase of the hotel’s refurbishment will see the reopening of its 49 bedrooms alongside two restaurants and a bar and lounge. The second phase, to be completed in August, will see a cookery school and farm shop open at the property and, early in 2022, a luxury spa and riverside glamping.

Executive chef Lee Clarke will oversee all elements of the food and beverage, including breakfast, afternoon tea and the more casual dining option Haycock Kitchen, although his focus will be the fine dining Prévost restaurant.. Clarke previously operated Prévost restaurant in Peterborough, with the concept now moving into an orangery-style building at the hotel with a glass atrium overlooking the Haycock’s kitchen gardens.

Joining Clarke in the kitchen at Prévost as sous chef will be Sam Nash, previously sous chef at L’Enclume in Cumbria. Haycock Kitchen will serve a brasserie-style menu, featuring seasonal grills and salads in the historic original Inn dating from 1534.

General manager Tom Wortley said: “The Haycock has a proud history of welcoming guests for over 450 years but the guest experience we are creating now combines that wonderful history with luxury finishes and the latest smart technology. Our highly talented team have been tasked with making the Haycock one of the finest hotels and food destinations in the east of England and they have the skills, experience and drive to achieve it.”

A one-night stay at Haycock Manor Hotel will start from £220 B&B based on two sharing.

Haycock Manor hotel will also launch as a member of the consortia Preferred Hotels & Resorts LVX Collection and Pride of Britain Hotels, taking the latter over its self-imposed membership limit of 50 to 52 hotels, with news expected from the group shortly.