Dorney Court is a Grade I listed Tudor manor house and is situated in the village of Dorney which lies on a slight rise in the Thames floodplain, Dorney means Island of Bumble Bees and the estate is renowned for its honey which is still produced to this day. The house has changed little since its 15th century origins. The first known record of a house at Dorney is dated just after the Norman Conquest.

The house is panelled in wood and contains many interesting treasures, paintings and artefacts and it even has a ghost. The upper floor rooms have barrel vaulted chambers, one of which, the great chamber is held up by ancient twig branches.

Photo copyright Dorney Court

Stepping into the great hall is like stepping back in time. The wall panelling was once in Faversham Abbey and the fireplace predates the current Hall. Two tables are placed in the room, one on a dais for the Lord and Lady of the Manor and another for family, guests and villagers in the hall below. In Tudor times this is where they would have dined. This room used to hold the manor court which may still be legally held there today. The most recent court was held to sort out matters related to Dorney Common after the Second World War during which parts of the Common were requisitioned by the government.

Photo copyright Dorney Court

Dorney Court is home to the Palmers and has been handed down from father to son in succession since 1620 and prior to that, through marriage to the Garrards, since 1538.

The Palmer lineage goes back as far as Charlemagne, the founding father of both the French and German monarchies (747-814). John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, the Baldwins of Flanders and the Plantagenet Kings of England are other notable Palmer ancestors.

The name Palmer goes back to the crusades, Crusaders returning from the First Crusade were referred to as ‘Palmers’ for the tradition of returning home with palm-branches. From one of those crusaders descended the present occupiers of Dorney.

Not all of the Palmer family renounced their Catholic faith and they continued to practice their religion which led to their indictment for recusancy.

In the 1600s Roger Palmer (1634-1705) married Barbara Villiers whose notorious behaviour brought her to the notice of Charles II. She mothered a daughter who was born in 1661 (Anne). The King insisted that Anne be referred to as ‘Fitzroy’ (child of the King). Despite Roger’s loyalty to the monarchy, he was imprisoned on more than one occasion for his staunch support of Catholicism.

Henry Palmer (born 1646) was in the army at St. Omers when in September 1668 where he was wounded. On 1st May 1679 he was indicted for recusancy. On his way to his trial in England the passage boat was cast away and he drowned in sight of Calais.

Charles Palmer (1651-1714) was a Catholic and serving soldier. He resigned at the time of the Glorious Revolution which saw King James II being overthrown in favour of Prince William of Orange who became William III of England. In 1693 Charles was indicted for Recusancy.

In 1842 Henry Palmer became Vicar of Dorney, his name can be seen on the list of rectors and ministers within the Church of St. John the Less.

Photo copyright Dorney Court

Not surprisingly with the family’s rich Catholic heritage, in recent years the house has revealed a secret. Whilst undertaking property renovations in the parlour an entrance to a priest hole was found in the south west corner. It is thought to be connected to Burnham Abbey via a secret passage.

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Our room was a little warm overnight due to the lovely weather. The breakfast spread was excellent, having both cooked and continental style options, although unfortunately the plates were cold.

When we were comfortably replete we drove to The Savill Garden which is situated in Windsor Great Park. Whilst we were travelling Mr C’s phone started to ring again, luckily, for some unaccountable reason (divine intervention?), the fully charged phone had completely drained its battery leaving us to enjoy the gardens in peace. The summer garden beds were particularly spectacular and we enjoyed walking through the woodlands in the wider garden. Before we left for our next destination we had lunch and browsed the extensive gift shop.

We had planned to visit Dorney Court next but realised that it wouldn’t be open when we arrived so we took a slight detour to see the Magna Carta Memorial at Runnymede. We made the short walk to the memorial which was erected by the American Bar Association in 1957. This area is another plane spotter’s paradise and, as we made our way back to the car park we observed many planes coming into land at Heathrow at approximately one minute intervals.

The hot weather prompted us to purchase a Mr Whippy ice cream before making our way to Dorney Court.

Dorney Court has a fascinating history having been in continuous ownership of the same family since 1537. The house visit is by guided tour and our guide shared many interesting bits of information including pointing out the 17th century priest hole which is rumoured to connect to a secret tunnel running to Burnham Abbey which is about a mile away.

After we had been in one of the rooms for a few minutes our guide mentioned that it was the room where the ghost had appeared. The story goes that whilst a young single man is sleeping in bed a lady dressed in grey appears and points to the corner of the room. Later in the place indicated by the ghost, a skull and other skeletal remains were found behind the wall.

After relating the tale the guide looked at me and said ‘in fact the ghost appeared exactly where you are standing and I see the colours you are dressed in’ (mauve/greys). Thankfully the room (for me) didn’t have an odd or creepy feel to it.

Before joining our guided tour we visited the charming parish Church of St James the Less which is situated just behind the house. The church has lots of interesting features and I would have liked to go back after the tour but unfortunately a wedding was taking place on the lawn blocking access to the church.

That evening we dined in the hotel restaurant which turned out to be a mistake.  The bread plates (but not the bread) were partially removed before our main courses arrived. The meal was disappointing and it was served on cold plates leading to our meal going cold very quickly. After we had finished the plates were removed and then, a little while later the bread was removed from the table. Dessert menus were not offered so after a while Mr C attracted someone’s attention and we were provided with menus but nobody came to take our order.

By this time we had given up on the idea and Mr C went to track someone down and request the bill. When he found someone he said ‘Could I have the bill for the table you have forgotten over there?’ Almost immediately the head waiter came over with the bill, apologising profusely, and advised that he had removed the cost of the meals from the bill and that we would only have to pay for the wine.

The saga of poor service continued in the bar area where the young bar tender was rather rude with an ‘I couldn’t care less’ attitude (Manuel who had served us the previous evening was serving in the restaurant). When mum asked if she could have a coffee he rather abruptly said no and when the next drink she wanted was not available either, no apologies just a curt response.

Chaos and mayhem continued as the bartender shared his this attitude with other customers and members of staff. For one group of customers the right type of glasses could not be found and drinks were not available until a little later they were miraculously unearthed in the cellar. Whilst all this was going on mum advised us that room service had removed her flannel from her room that morning. All very ‘Fawlty Towers’!

By the end of the evening I was trying very hard not to laugh out loud