Spurrell's Retreat, England

Spurrell's Retreat Luxury Holiday Apartment for romantic breaks near a beach in Bessingham, Norfolk, England

The Spurrell family had been significant landowners and farmers in the Thurgarton and Bessingham areas since 1766 and in the late 1860’s, Daniel Spurrell, the current owner of the Bessingham estate, inherited substantial family money, that enabled him to acquire the title of Lord of Bessingham Manor in 1867. With his newly found wealth in 1870, Daniel was able to construct a new Manor House and develop the surrounding estate, including the farm.

In 2018, Angie and Steve purchased the dilapidated Manor House Farm and set about renovating it into a family home. From the outset it had always been their intention to create an extension, for others to immerse themselves in the beauty and rich history of the locality. This was possible by replacing the outside toilets built for the residential ‘dame’ school that occupied part of the farmhouse for more than 50 years during the 19th century and also it would take over the footprint of a straw burner, that provided heat and hot water for the house in the 1970’s. The farm tended 133 acres of arable land, so it wasn’t difficult to find the 14 straw bales a day the burner consumed!

Spin back to 1751 and Thomas Frankland was in residence in the farmhouse and his large metal initials can still be seen on the end of the big barn at the front of the house. I say front, but curiously it now looks like the back of the house, as during the construction of Manor House, Daniel took the unprecedented move of re-routing the road, to better fit around the estate and away from his house. This has resulted in the farmhouse now facing open pasture, with the rear of the house facing towards the ‘new’ road, over the paddock and wild flower garden.

And so now, in 2024, as Thomas rented Manor House Farm from Daniel Spurrell, you can also enjoy the farmhouse, by staying in… Spurrell’s Retreat

In homage to the heritage of the farm and estate, Spurrell’s Retreat is a brand new, unique, self-contained, high-tech apartment, offering 5* accommodation for two adults, with a living/sleeping area, kitchen and a bathroom with walk-in shower and sauna.

As you access the apartment through its private entrance, from parking right outside, you are straight into the highly specified kitchen, with electric oven and hob, fridge, dishwasher, plus a washer and dryer in an adjacent cupboard.

Moving into the connecting corridor, the walk-in storeroom and wardrobe are opposite and then the bathroom. Soft fluffy towels and quality personal care products are on hand to help you enjoy the large walk-in shower and cosy sauna, with its Alexa enabled sound system.

At the end of the corridor is the large lounge and bedroom area, with king-size bed and comfy sofa plus dining table and chairs. The French doors lead out onto a private raised patio with gas BBQ.

The whole apartment is wi-fi and network enabled, with usb charging in the living area, which is also Alexa enabled through the Echo sound system and TV. The TV is powered by Amazon FireTV, and you can enjoy the Retreat app subscriptions for Prime, Apple, Netflix and Disney, or any of your own apps should you prefer.

Steve is your host at Spurrell’s Retreat, who has lived and managed holiday lets in North Norfolk for more than 20 years and has a wealth of local knowledge, so you are in experienced hands during your stay!

That being said, it’s your stay at the Retreat, and we really respect your privacy. We are close by if you have any questions, or if you would like recommendations. But if you want a private stay with us then that’s fine too, just let us know!

Spurrell’s Retreat is in Bessingham, a very quiet village, 5 miles south of Sheringham, ideally located to access the beautiful North Norfolk Coast and its wealth of interesting things to do and places to go. Our Welcome Information will give you a great start in planning your visit, but if you have any special requests, just let us know before you arrive, and we’ll research that for you. If you would like us to book restaurants, just ask and we can also take you there and back to the local ones, so you can enjoy yourselves without having to drive.

Want to be active and stretch your legs… we have a variety of walks from the Retreat that will take you around the lovely local countryside and the National Trust property of Felbrigg is less than 3 miles across the fields. If you really want to get your steps in, then Blickling Hall is just over 6 miles away. We also have a variety of coastal walks and if you’d like to bring bikes with you then we can store them safely and send you off on routes to lots of interesting places! For those of you that just want to chill at the Retreat… table tennis anyone?

Contact us direct or go straight to Airbnb for bookings.

Angie and Steve really hope you enjoy your stay with us.