Charlton House, on the edge of Shepton Mallet, carries a local story that Roger Ames built it for his bride between 1630 and 1650. Nikolaus Pevsner believed Ames had rebuilt an older house. What stands now is mostly later: Historic England dates the front range to about 1810, a few years after the Reverend William Provis Wickham bought the estate in 1804, with a much restored seventeenth century wing at the rear. Weddings are held today in a Regency Orangery that looks over the lawns and an apple orchard, with a conservatory restaurant and a walled garden bar beside it.
The house its owners made
According to a local heritage account, Wickham moved the road away from the front door to the far side of a trout stream, bridged the stream, dammed it to form an ornamental lake and added the Georgian porch. Francis Dix, who founded All Hallows School, bought the house in 1960 and is thought to have opened the ceiling of an upper room to make a chapel. Ken Seaton bought it in 1965 and made it a hotel, and Bannatyne Group bought it in 2010.
Roger Saul, who founded Mulberry in 1971 with his mother Joan, bought the house in 1996. Montigo says that he and his wife Monty refurbished it and that many of their craftworks remain, and Mulberry furniture and wood panelling still define several rooms. Since March 2023 the house has belonged to KOP Limited of Singapore and been managed by Montigo Resorts, which says it has used local businesses and materials where it could, with more refurbishment to come. Montigo’s other hotels are in Indonesia; the spa follows Montigo Wellness there, and Tiigo, the bar and grill in the walled garden, is pan Asian.
The Orangery, the conservatory and the orchard
The Regency Orangery has iron windows, chandeliers and a parquet floor. Montigo presents it as a ceremony room over the lawns and the orchard, and it also divides into two meeting rooms. Montigo says the room has gained a reputation over the years for evening parties, from DJ sets and acoustic jazz to New Year countdowns.
Wedding breakfasts, celebrations and private dinners are served in the restaurant in the estate’s botanical conservatory. In the warmer months Tiigo can be hired privately. The hotel can be taken for exclusive use, with a dedicated events team, and Montigo says it works with florists and local suppliers, books Somerset musicians and builds menus from local produce, from contemporary Asian dishes to flame grilled meat and seafood.
Where the wedding party stays
There are 28 rooms and suites across the house, the courtyard and the gardens. Courtyard rooms have private patios and mezzanine bathrooms, and garden rooms face the lawn and the orchard. Montigo describes the Somerset Suite, with its four poster bed and a bath in the room, as its signature bridal suite. Other choices include a Spa Duplex on two levels, a Country Cottage with a private garden and an outdoor hot tub, and a suite with two bedrooms for families or friends sharing.
The spa
The thermal spa is built around a hydrotherapy pool, a Finnish sauna and a steam room that Montigo says is infused with Bohemian amethyst, with an outdoor hot tub in the courtyard garden. Treatments follow Asian healing traditions and Montigo Wellness in Indonesia. Montigo offers couples a single complimentary spa day pass on registration with its events team. The spa and pool are for guests aged 18 and over.
Around Shepton Mallet
The Mendip Hills, now a National Landscape and formerly an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, lie on the doorstep for walking and cycling. Montigo names Wells, with its cathedral and market square, Glastonbury and its Tor, Cheddar Gorge, Wookey Hole Caves, Kilver Court Gardens and Shepton Mallet Prison among places to visit, with Frome, Bruton, Bath and Bristol further afield. Guests who come by train arrive at Castle Cary, about an hour and a half from London Paddington, then take a taxi of around 20 minutes.
Planning a wedding at Charlton House
Under the previous owners the Orangery was listed for 70 guests and a marquee took a wedding to 120; ask whether a marquee is still offered, for the current figure for each room, for the price and for the civil ceremony licence. Parking is free for guests who book directly, with limited spaces confirmed on arrival. Three bedrooms are accessible, but the period house has steps and uneven ground.
The house suits couples drawn to a Regency house with a seventeenth century wing, a ceremony room over an apple orchard and a spa that follows Montigo’s Indonesian hotels. See the Montigo Resorts Somerset at Charlton House profile for the rooms and gallery, browse wedding venues in the United Kingdom or Somerset, or read the Edit on The Royal Crescent Hotel and Spa in nearby Bath.
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