Our History

Our Story

Our unique history sets Pendley Manor apart from other hotels in Hertfordshire.

Although Pendley Manor is now one of the most recognisable hotels in Hertfordshire, its story stretches back nearly 1,000 years and includes some famous names.

The Manor dates back to the Doomesday Book, when it was confiscated in 1066 by William the Conqueror and passed to his brother in law, Earl Moreton.
Jon de Angle, reputed to have been the first Member of Parliament, became the Manor’s next owner, before it was passed to the Verney family when Sir Robert Whittingham’s daughter married John Verney. The Verney family lived at the Manor for the next 150 years.

The Anderson family then occupied the Manor for the next four generations, prior to it being inherited by the Harcourt family. Sir William Harcourt abandoned the Manor in the 19th century, having objected to the building of the railway. It was burnt down in 1835.

Local landowner Joseph Grout Williams commissioned architect John Lion to build a new Tudor style Manor in 1872. He then occupied the Manor from 1875 until 1983, when the racehorse owner and commentator Dorian Williams sold the property to The Grass Roots Company.

Becoming one of the finest hotels in Hertfordshire

In 1987, the Manor was purchased by an independent Hotelier and in 1989 restored to its original grandeur it re-opened as a Country House Hotel. In May 1991, the addition of the Harcourt ballroom and meeting rooms, together with 72 large and well appointed bedrooms which are currently undergoing major refurbishment, now makes Pendley Manor the perfect country house hotel.