Gravetye Manor

In 1958, the property and grounds were leased to business partners Robin Howard,^[5] and restaurateur Peter Herbert and his first wife Pip.^[5] Herbert was later considered a pioneer of the country house hotel, turning the property into a 17 bedroom hotel which, through use of a noted kitchen garden, gained its Michelin star.^[6] During his 40 years of ownership, Herbert also restored Robinson's core 52 acres (21 ha) of natural gardens (which cost £50,000 per annum to maintain),^[5] with the hotel and kitchen becoming rated one of the UK's top five hotels.^[5]

In 2004, Peter Herbert and his second wife Sue retired to a cottage on the house lands, and sold the business to Andrew Russell and chef Mark Raffan,^[7] under whose management, following the Great Recession, the business fell into administration early in 2010.^[8] After the administrators agreed a deal with Von Essen Hotels, in March 2010 the property lease was bought by long-term guest and professional investor Jeremy Hosking,^[9] who has since invested £2.5M in the property and gardens.^[10] He has also invested in a new building infilling the courtyard to provide a new restaurant designed by architect Sir Charles Knowles, another long-term guest. The gardens still exist and are accessible to hotel guests.

• Official website
• William Robinson. Gravetye Manor : or, twenty years' work round an old manor house. 1911. Digital copy of Robinson's book on the Royal Horticultural Society's Digital Collections website