Heritage Afternoon Tea & Tour

Start with a full tour of our beautiful building and grounds led by an expert local guide, finish with a delicious afternoon tea served in the Grade II listed main house.

A brief history

Set in the grounds of Wivenhoe Park the hotel and surroundings were immortalised in canvas by renowned British artist John Constable, when he was commissioned by the then owner Major-General Francis Slater Rebow in 1816. The resulting painting now hangs in the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.

The tour guides

GuideEast are Claire Partner and Ian Baalham registered blue badge tour guides for the East of England since 1998 and also qualified to guide in the city of London, Windsor and Eton and the London 2012 venues. The Blue Badge is awarded by the Institute of Tourist Guiding and is the highest level of guiding qualification in Britain. It is your guarantee of an entertaining, informative, reliable and professional guide; with local knowledge who will make a good experience great.

The programme

  • 11:30am: Guests to arrive and meet with staff of the hotel and tour guides
  • 11:45am: An extensive tour of the house & grounds begins
  • 1:00pm: Afternoon tea is served in the beautiful lounges inside the Grade II listed main house
  • 2:15 pm approx: Guests can depart at leisure or remain in the lounges

Sample afternoon tea menu

Traditional finger sandwiches

Egg mayonnaise with cress on brown bread

Cheddar cheese with tomato on white bread

Lemon and Pepper marinated smoked salmon on brown bread

Ham and mustard cream cheese on white bread

Scones

Fruit and plain scones

freshly baked in our kitchen daily and served with clotted cream and Tiptree Jam

Tea pastries

Lemon mouse shortbread

Mango coconut éclair

Black forest slice

Pistachio macaron

Toffee apple tartlet

Tickets

  • £26.50 per person including tour and afternoon tea

How to book

2019 Dates

Our heritage tea & tour will also be available to book on;

  • Wednesday 12 June 2019
  • Wednesday 11 September 2019
 Our 2019 Events Calendar

WHERE WE ARE

find us, however you travel
By car:

Whether approaching Wivenhoe House from London and the South or Ipswich and the North via the A12, take the exit marked Colchester (A133). Follow the A133 towards Clacton, ignore the entrance to the Knowledge Gateway, continue along the A133 then take the B1028 for Wivenhoe before turning right into Boundary Road, then right again into Park Road. The entrance for Wivenhoe House is shared with the University of Essex but Park Road leads you through Wivenhoe Park and you will be able to see the glorious house from the road.

For Sat Nav please use CO4 3FA.

Download our PDF Map

By train:

Colchester station, Colchester Town station, Wivenhoe station and Hythe stations are all between 10-15 minutes from Wivenhoe House by car. Trains run between London (Liverpool Street) and Colchester station every 10-20 minutes. The journey takes around an hour. Also connect with Colchester from Norwich, Ipswich, Felixstowe & Harwich. Some trains from London (Liverpool Street) also stop at Wivenhoe Station. When travelling from the Clacton/Walton direction, alight at Wivenhoe or Hythe Stations.


By plane:

Stansted airport is approximately 45 minutes from Wivenhoe House by car. Helicopter pad coordinates are 603200/223900.