Vines
FacilitiesVisits by appointment
Wine Maker
The Great Lodge, Bardfield was built (and partially destroyed!) in the 16th Century. The rebuilt house, including the surviving East wing is constructed on 2 sides of a courtyard and is currently the headquarters of a large farming enterprise, of which a hectare of viticulture plays a small part. The Grade I listed barn was constructed for Anne of Cleves, one of the more pragmatic wives of Henry VIII
(she agreed to a divorce without
argument and was rewarded with several English properties).
The house is reputed to have a ghost, but no-one is quite
sure whose it is.The vines were planted in 1990 on a slight south facing slope on the eastern side of the house. Advice on the suitability of the types was given by the wine writer Hugh Johnson, who lives nearby. A small crop was obtained after 3 years and the output and quality has increased steadily, resulting in the award of East Anglian Wine of the Year in 1996. Wines are sold in several local restaurants. One interesting by-product is the prunings of the vines, which have been used in a Thaxted restaurant as barbecue fuel.
The surrounding area
Leave the A120 Braintree-Dunmow road at BLAKE END and turn north
up the minor road signposted GREAT BARDFIELD. Go through Great
Saling village and the entrance to the Lodge (via a half-mile drive)
is on the north side of the road. Another 2 miles further north
is Great Bardfield, referred to as Byrdefelda in Domesday Book.
The name is believed to originate from the 'Feld' (or field) on the
bank of the River Pant. It is noted for its fine Medaeval and
Georgian houses, restored windmill and 14th. Century church.
From Great Bardfield , there are 2 route options . Turn left in
the village along the B1057, over the Pant and a 2 mile drive brings
you to the
scenic and popular village of Finchingfield. Turn right, then left
(signposted Little Bardfield), and a 5 mile detour brings you to
THAXTED. This historic town nearly became the cathedral city of Essex.
It clusters around the huge 14th. Century church with a 180 foot
spire. Its main street boasts multi-coloured half-timbered houses,
the majority of which are Grade 1 listed, as is its 14th. Century
Guildhall. Thaxted is unusual in that it owes its original prosperity
to cutlery rather than the regional woollen industry. The name
originates from the Old English paec-stede the place where thatch
was got.Return to Anglia page