About us
Moat Hall Retreats is a unique retreat centre set in landscape that inspired the paintings of Constable and Gainsborough and just an hour from London.
We run Reading Retreats, led an award winning bookshop owner. We also hire the house out to those organising their own retreats. Moat Hall is designed especially for this purpose, accommodating up to 12 people. The creatively designed and colourful interiors include the Moat Hall Library and Bookshop, filled with an eclectic collection of classic and contemporary fiction and non-fiction.
THE HOUSE
Moat Hall is a Grade II listed 18th century Georgian hall house with Medieval origins. It is newly decorated in an eclectic style with striking art and unconventional colours and fabric. The rooms find a balance between easy, eclectic charm and a sense of drama and atmosphere. The 7/8 bedrooms offer calm, well appointed sanctuaries subtly influenced by the authors for whom they are named.
MOAT HALL GROUNDS
The magic of Moat Hall does not end at its doorway. The house is partially surrounded by an ancient moat traversed by a wooden footbridge, home to ducks, a family of moorhens and occasionally a heron. We have over four acres of gardens including an orchard, walled garden and wild meadow with a stunning variety of trees and birds. In season, there’s a secluded heated swimming pool.
LOCAL AREA
Beyond the grounds lies protected Woodland Trust land, including walks around nearby Fordham Hall Estate and access to the Essex Way. Dedham Vale on the River Stour, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is a short drive away, as is the stunning Colne Valley. In the 18th century, John Constable grew up nearby and many of his most famous paintings are loyal renditions of the local landscape.
The house is located in the village of Fordham with the award winning Three Horseshoes restaurant and pub a ten minute walk away. Colchester is a fifteen minute drive and is Britain’s oldest recorded town, featuring Roman walls and a Norman castle.
