The precise age of Bonningtons is not known, however first records originate from the early 1600s so it is likely that the house pre-dates this by a few years indicating a very late 16th century or early 17th century property. It is now a Grade II listed building with a number of key listed features.
Records are not precise but at some stage the property was aquired by the Houblon's Hallingbury estate.
Bonningtons itself was reportedly the home of the 'Estate Manager'.
The estate itself also included Hatfield Forest. It was Jacob Houblon that created the current lake to be found in the centre of the forest, some time around 1740.
Jacobs son further enhanced the estate and forest around 1770 with the consultation of the famous landscaper 'Capability Brown' adding further exotic trees and some areas opened up to improve the views, the lake itself was laos altered at this time.
The most famous member of the houblon family was Sir John Houblon, who was the first active Governor of the Bank of England, his picture can be found on the reverse of the current £50 note.
Unfortunately during the late 1800s there was a decline in the fortunes of the Houblon family, and they departed Hallingbury for their other family estate in Welford Berkshire in 1909. Hallingbury place was let out briefly but in 1922 it was pulled down. In 1923 the estate was broken up and it was at this point that Boningtons was originally sold.
After this time the property was surrounded by orchards and had a great deal of land to either side, however over the years much of this has been parcelled of and sold.
The Legend
There is a local legend that The George pub and Bonningtons had a secret passage between the two. However investigations by ourselves, previous owners and and Andrew at 'The George' have so far failed to uncover anything.
Bonningtons B&B - The Project
We specifically purchased Bonningtons with the full intention of setting up as a B&B. In fact we had spent the previous 2 years looking for the right sort of property in the right location. Both my wife and I originate locally so we have a wealth of local area knowledge, and at one stage our daughter was a pupil at our local village school.
So in early 2001 the project began, we initially had permission to run a couple of rooms in the main house, but the master plan was the barn conversion. In previous years there were two barns situated in the surrounding orchard, but one was in such bad repair that it did not survive and a swimming pool now sits where it was located.
Once permission from Uttlesford council had been given, conversion work commenced in late 2002, and the project itself took around 18 months as certain limitations were imposed due to the historical listing of the house and barn.
Bonningtons Today
The B&B is all now located in our converted barn.
We are located 3 miles from the airport itself and a transfer to/from the terminal takes around 10 minutes in a car or taxi.
We are located on a typical English village green 'George Green' with all three bordering propeties of a similar age/nature.
Directly opposite Bonningtons is the George pub where you can relax and sample some traditional English home cooking.
Most of our clients are travelling through Stansted airport and we have specifically geared our B&B to cater for these clients, although of course other types of guests are more than welcome.
The rooms all have their own full en-suite facilities, not just a shower or sink placed in the corner of the room.
The rooms are tastefully furnished, each room has either a wooden or wrought iron bed, covered with luxury cotton bedding/bedspreads.
We are able to provide continental breakfast at anytime in our recently converted Breakfast Lounge, when we state Bed and Breakfast at a price we mean it !
By arranging all the rooms to have their own entrance we have an ability for guest to come and go at anytime day or night.
We also provide a free transfer to/from the airport and local railway station, with a specific vehicle that can accommodate large or unusual items of luggage.
Most of the rooms have full power showers that utilise the very latest continental pressurised system,
so not a dribbling electric showers with low water pressure, even so we recognise that some clients prefer a bath so please indicate if you have any preference when booking.
All of the rooms comply with fire regulations, with the same centralised system as found in hotel accommodation, including full emergency exit lighting.
The rooms also comply with all the latest government regulations on sound transmission between rooms and have been independantly tested as such.
We have full external dusk to dawn sensored lighting, (this is also specifically low energy), so no stumbling around in the dark when you have that early morning departure.
So next time you are considering a Stansted based Bed and Breakfast, remember to ask yourself about some of the specifics listed above, and in particular think about your own personal safety.
On a final note, we hope you have a great stay with us at Bonningtons.
