If you are planning a trip to the South-Western part of England and you need a place to stay, look no further than the Lucknam Park Hotel and Spa. This historic hotel is truly a work of art. This beautiful hotel’s history dates back to 1199 to about 1688, were at that time, there was a farmhouse on the current side of the main house. For more than five centuries, the land on which the hotel resides was used for farmland until the last owning family passed away, leaving the estate to the ownership of nine cousins. The cousins decided to sell the property in 1986, and the Lucknam Park was bought in 1987 as a joint venture trade as the Lucknam Park hotels were of limited quantity. In 1994 the hotel was sold again and purchased by a European shipping family who still operates the property today as a single privately owned hotel.
The Families
James Wallis was a wealthy Bristol Merchant who bought the Lucknam property that consisted of 100 acres for only a mere £500. The western part of the country had been famous for its woolen cloths that were manufactured by the Wallis family. Wallis owned two ships that he used to trade different items from Europe to America. After his death in 1708, Wallis’s son Ezekiel inherited Lucknap at the young age of 14. Twenty years later, he married Cecilia Selfe and served as the Sheriff of Wiltshire. Ezekiel passed in 1735, and Cecilia remarried, surviving her husband. Cecilia never had children, so the Lucknam passed to her nephew.
The Muthuen’s made a fortune just like Wallis’s, two members of his family John and son Sir Paul; both were distinguished and in standing with the King of Portugal during the War of Spanish Succession. Sir Paul married in 1776 and was gifted the Lucknam by his father. Twenty years later Paul Cobb inherited the nearby Corsham Court, and once again the Lucknam sold
Roughly another thirty years passed before the hotel had sold yet again. This time the purchase was by Andreas Christian Boode, who’s family was of Dutch origin and had been immensely successful. When Boode passed, he was the owner of five coffee plantations that were worked by nearly 2000 slaves. When Andreas came to England, he married the rector’s daughter. When she died, he bought Lucknam park and moved there with his two children Phoebe and John. John was a great traveler visiting Russia, Palestine, Egypt, and Turkey. John married a woman named Clementina in 1834 and celebrated their marriage at Lucknam. The newlyweds decided to travel, spending a year in Florence. They had four daughters, in which two of them died when they were infants. At this time, it was very uncommon for divorce, but it was decided that John and Clementia would be. John started at Lucknam with his daughters. After his death in 1870, the estate was sold yet again.
New owner Richard Walmesley passed Lucknam on to his son Jonnie. Both were Victorian squares that enjoyed helping the poor. They entered into the life of the country and funded the building of the district. Johnnie’s only son was killed in the Great War, and he was so affected by the loss that he sold Lucknam in 1918.
The next Lucknam family were the Merry’s. This family originated in Glasgow. Archie Merry bought Lucknam in 1928 as a gift for his only son Eion. Eion married in 1932 and his wife who originated from Scotland moved to the estate to be with him. During the Battle of Britain in 1940 the Lucknam’s driveway was used to park the planes Spitfire and Hurricane using the trees to camouflage it. During the war, the Luckname was visited by many guests one of them was Queen Mary who was staying at the nearby Badminton House. After Eion died in 1966 at 63 years of age his family could not afford the upkeep of the house and sold it to a neighbor by the name of Mr. Stevens.
In 1987 Lucknam was bought by Lucknam Park Hotels Ltd. In October 2016 the ownership was under the control of a private family since 1994, since then they have undergone an expansive renovation as well as an expansion to the hotel. The renovation helped the hotel to win awards such as the Luxury Travel Awards, Hotel and Spa of the Year (2016) and the Condé Nast Johansens Award for Best Hotel with a Spa 2019.