Old Down has one of the better survival stories in South Gloucestershire. The manor went up in 1856, was enlarged and reworked in the 1880s by the Bristol architect who would later give the city its university tower, then burned almost to the ground in 1952 and sat abandoned for the best part of two decades before Robert Bernays bought the ruin and rebuilt it in 1971. What you visit now is a house that has been loved back into life twice over, most recently through a multi-million-pound refurbishment that left it glittering.
And it does glitter. Crystal chandeliers hang through the ground floor, a sweeping Bath stone staircase makes short work of the photographs, and the atrium throws rainbows across the floor when the afternoon sun catches the glass. Bedroom windows look out over the Severn estuary towards Wales, with the bridges strung across the water in the distance—a view that has sold this venue to a good many couples before they have even seen the dining room.
The house sits in 66 acres of gardens, parkland and country park. There is a two-acre Victorian kitchen garden at the front, a woodland garden planted in the 1920s with orchards, rhododendrons and a pond, an ornate Italian gateway brought over in the early 20th century, rockeries, water features and specimen trees that have had a century and a half to fill out. Eight bedrooms in the manor take the wedding party overnight, the kitchens are in-house with chefs who will build menus around you, and the whole place is yours exclusively from midday until late the following morning.
Where the band plays
The dining and dancing spaces run through the orangery, the Bernays Room and the atrium, with room for 120 at tables and around 200 once the evening guests arrive. It is a house with high ceilings and a lot of glass, which flatters a live band—brass and vocals carry beautifully under that roof—but it also means the venue asks that bass is kept at a civilised level, a condition of its licence in a quiet rural spot. Any experienced wedding band will take that in their stride; it is simply worth mentioning it when you book so nobody is surprised on the night.
How the evening runs
Ceremonies can be held in the orangery, the Bernays Room or the atrium, or outdoors in the gardens with the estuary behind you, and drinks afterwards belong on the terraces while the light goes down over Wales. The band typically plays through to around midnight, which gives you two full sets after the speeches and enough time for the dancefloor to properly take hold, and for those not ready to stop there is a bar downstairs licensed later still. Parking is plentiful, access for equipment is easy, and with guests staying on site the end of the night is a wander upstairs rather than a scramble for cars.
Bands available in Bristol and perfectly at home in a venue like this.
More live music in Bristol.
- Bristol Wedding Bands
- Bristol Events Bands
- Tribute Acts in Bristol
- Wedding DJs in Bristol
- Corporate Entertainment in Bristol
Worth reading before you book: Sound Limiters Explained. More questions answered on our England & Wales FAQs.