As a family we think of ourselves as custodians if you like - here to look after the house as a labour of love for a brief time in its long history. By having events here we are sharing the joys of the house that we have with others. This comes quite naturally as the house was built for entertaining and does it very well with its architectural layout. We may not have 23 servants as it was 100 years ago but we plan and make it happen for you through our small but dedicated team. The homely feel and ambience that the house provides is an aspect that is often commentated on and it is authentic for a reason as we live here.
Your Hosts
We, the Simpson family, have been living at Burton Court since 1960. My father, Lt Com Robert Macaulay Simpson bought the house and 19 acres for use as a residence and for a soft fruit growing enterprise after a distinguished naval career.
Alongside my mother, Helen they built a name for doing guided tours around the house and grounds with a unique exhibition that mainly featured period costumes. The exhibition also included such curios as ship models, taxidermy, musical boxes, model railways and antiques. The soft fruit enterprise was closed down in 2007, allowing my parents to take a well-earned retirement after years of hard work in keeping this house afloat with its acre of roof! Their final investment to the house was to put in a biomass boiler which means that everyone is toasty and warm who comes into the house, including themselves! A rich reward to them after a lifetime of work.
We owe a huge thanks to our past wedding couples for getting married at Burton Court and we thank them, deeply, for continuing to support us and letting them use their lovely photographs from their big day..
I have a deep love for the house built up in childhood from helping my parents do guided tours when I was a teenager. The house comes with big responsibilities that I take seriously and work hard to maintain. I live here with my very supportive wife Helen (I know two Helen Simpsons living under one roof) and our baby girl Rosabelle. We could go on about what we do and our interests away from the house but I will digress if I do. Rather than talk about myself too much it is better to get other people’s opinions of what we are about and how we do things in the house I sometimes call ‘BC’. What I learnt studying business management is ‘business is the art of getting things done’. Hosting weddings is our core business so to hear about how we do things it is best to read some third hand reports from our clients – the wedding couples.
Hopefully see you soon,
Edward Simpson
