“Anyone would be silly to decide not to go with Pekes because of the way it has aged, which is what makes is so unique, full of history and different to the rest of the bland venues that are out there.” Rose Campbell, August 2023
- You enjoy two or three days at Pekes with up to 44 of your closest and dearest family and friends staying in our four houses.
- You can have the whole private Pekes estate to yourselves in 30 acres of Gardens, Parkland and fields.
- Civil Marriages and Partnership Licensed Ceremonies performed on the spot.
- You all get to enjoy Pekes heated indoor Swimming Pool, Tennis court, children’s play area, Jacuzzi, Sauna – and even making friends with Pekes’ chickens.
- Nothing is imposed on you. You chose your own Marquees, Caterers and all other suppliers, and do it all the way you want. Pekes has its own 15m x 10m Stretch Marquee, plus Wedding chairs and tables if you wish to use them, but you don’t have to.
- You want music? Have it. You want Fireworks? Have them. You want Firebowls? We have them. You want to arrive by Coach or Double-decker? No problem.
- Corkage? None.
- Hidden extras? None.
The Venue
Pekes Manor and its Estate is a wonderful place for your truly memorable Marriage & Celebration. You rent it just as you see it when you visit; this allows you to plan and provide whatever you wish, set against the backdrop of the old brick houses, the lawns, the large gardens and the rolling countryside beyond. We impose no suppliers, charge no corkage and there are no hidden extras. We have four houses, acres of lawns and gardens and a large Park. Up to 44 staying Guests (and another 100 day Guests if you wish) are good maximum numbers to aim for.
Pekes is in the East Sussex Weald – 52 miles from central London down the A22, 19 miles from Brighton, 14 miles from Eastbourne and just 62 miles from the Folkestone Eurotunnel. The South Downs National Park and the sea are close by.
Exclusivity
Pekes is a quiet self-contained rural estate, centred on its picturesque Tudor Manor house and surrounded by organically-farmed Wealden fields, which offers exclusive privacy for your Celebration. This is very much enhanced when you book all of our houses for your family and friends. Book them all for the whole weekend, and the place is all yours!
Accommodation
Pekes Manor and its three surrounding houses are cleaned and prepared to a high standard for your arrival, and our prices include cleaning on departure.
Facilities
Your guests can enjoy our heated indoor swimming pool (open all year), Jacuzzis, Sauna, tennis court, lawn badminton, croquet and table tennis, sit out on the lawns or wander round our large gardens and park, or walk off into the unspoilt countryside. In the evening you can enjoy the Fire Bowls and Chimineas at the houses.
Pekes prices include all guest linen, towels, etc. in the houses, power, all of our facilities and use of our gardens and park. It’s a fully-functioning facility for you to create your own unforgettable Celebration weekend (and mid-weeks are often available too).
Approved Licensed Marriage Premises for Civil Marriages & Civil Partnerships
Pekes is Licensed for on-site Weddings with Ceremonies in our Tudor Dining room (seats up to 50), and also in our lovely outdoor Gazebo on the Ceremonies lawn looking out over the unspoilt landscape.
For the fees charged by the Registrars please visit Sussex Licenced Venues.
Weddings in our local Church
Pekes is in the Parish of Chiddingly (‘United Benefice of Chiddingly with East Hoathly’); the old church is just over a mile away in our small village centre. If you wish to get married there, and have no existing connection with the Parish, the Church of England rule is quite simple: “Where a couple have no existing connection [with the Parish] they must create one – essentially by worshipping at normal services for a period of 6 months [the absolute minimum is once a month for 6 months]. This is a normal thing to do and we often have couples who do this to be married in one of our churches”. If you wish to take that up, please contact the Rector: Rev’d James Vine – (01825) 840270. jamesdavidvine@gmail.com.
Suppliers
There are many good and reliable specialised local suppliers of everything that you would need for your Wedding Celebration to choose from. Please ask for our up-to-date Suggested Suppliers list.
Catering
Each house has a fully equipped kitchen; the largest is the one in the Manor house. The Manor house dining room can seat up to a maximum of 28 people. You will probably want a Marquee and an outside caterer of your choice, but you may possibly manage without.
Marquee
Our huge ‘Ducks Lawn’ can accommodate large Marquees, with good setting-up access. Your Marquee supplier can set up at any time from Thursday onwards. If you want to use the Ducks Lawn for other activities, you can set up your Marquee on the close-by Pekes Space. Alternatively Pekes has its own Stretch Marquee (15m x 10m, seats up to 75), also wedding chairs and trestle tables.
Power
We feed power to your Marquee from several places near the lawn, and this is usually sufficient. However, if you are having Marquee-based on-site cooking facilities or other power-hungry equipment, you may need a generator. Please consult your suppliers.
WCs
There are four ground-floor level WCs within reach of the main lawn. However, you may feel that you might also want to hire portable toilets, which can be placed out of sight near the main lawn (see our Suggested Suppliers list).
Music
If you have hired the whole estate, your music won’t disturb ‘the neighbours next door’. However, we have to be aware that sound travels in the countryside, so we do request a bit of ‘volume down’ at about 10, and the Council insist that we ensure that you cease playing outside at 12 midnight; after that softer music in the houses is of course allowed. With a Silent Disco – there’s no problem at all!
Fireworks
You can have a (safe) fireworks display, but this must be managed by a professional. Sadly our Council insists that this must end by 10:30 pm. Please kindly definitely inform us in advance, so we can tell our farming neighbours with livestock; thank you.
Alcohol License
If you will be operating a paid-for bar, you may need a License. Consult your caterer or bar provider, or talk to the Wealden Council Licensing team on 01323 443555.
Deliveries
If you are organising direct deliveries to Pekes on your behalf, it’s very preferable that you will be there to receive them. If not possible, please check with us that there will be a member of the Pekes team there to receive them on the day.
Pekes official map name is ‘Pekes House’ with postcode BN27 4AD.
Pekes what3words: resold.teaching.heartache.
Your Arrival & Departure
You and your staying guests are very welcome to arrive at Pekes from 15:00 hours on your arrival afternoon. Departure is by 10:00 on the Monday morning to allow our housekeepers to get on with their job. You marquee supplier is welcome to set up on the Friday before you arrive, and take down on the Monday after your departure. If any of this won’t be convenient, please ask.
Your Guests’ Arrival on the Day
If you wish, the Pekes main Front Gates from Thundershill (the main road) will be opened on Saturday morning and stay open. Your guests will drive along the front drive across our Park, and will park their cars on the edge of the parkland below the house (sign-posted). Of course they can drive up to the house to drop off passengers, but should then return to the parking area, otherwise the house front parking will get too full. We can provide a map for you to send your guests.
The Front Gates are (just) wide enough to allow coaches or double-deckers access (see below).
Disabled Access
We have ramps for easy access into the Manor house ground floor, where there is also a disabled WC. Two of our other houses are single storey – Tudor View and The Wing. They can both be accessed by a couple of steps up a removable ramp. If you need a ramp, we just need to know in advance – no problem.
Children
Pekes is a safe place; there are no roads or public footpaths or machines or wells. The old pond is very shallow. There is a nice children’s Play area with swings, frames, etc. We have cots and high chairs available.
Pets
Pekes is pet-friendly; we welcome well-behaved dogs and neutered cats. Outside the house gardens, dogs must be kept on a lead.
Transport
The nearest convenient rail station is Polegate (see below), with station taxis. There are several taxi companies in nearby Hailsham and they, along with a lot of other local information, are shown on the Pekes Resouces page.
Directions to Pekes are included on our Contact page.
Larger Vehicles
Some of our Wedding Guests wish to have larger/wider vehicles like coaches delivering their guests, etc. If that’s the case, we need please to know well in advance.
Event Management
Building up to, and on-the-day management of your event can be complicated & stressful; unexpected things can go wrong – wine can run out, food can get late, more power can be needed, some of many things. Our Pekes Weddings Manager is Amy Chessell (contact details below), who will advise you. If required, she can also offer you in-depth advice, or a full planning service &/or on-the-day management. She has done it all before many times, and knows all the problems and their solutions.
Security
Pekes is a secluded and secure place. However you may feel that you would like a security presence during your celebrations, and we recommend Phase One Security; call 0800 009 6898 for a quote. A member of the Pekes team will usually be on-site during the night, who will assist with problems, but they are unable to be responsible for your security.
How to get there
Address: Nash Street, Chiddingly, Hailsham, BN27 4AD.
By road: turn off the A22 at Golden Cross onto Nash Street. Pekes is on the right in 1 mile, at the cross-roads.
By train: Polegate station on the East Coastway (Brighton to Hastings) line; trains arrive there quite frequently from Brighton, Gatwick, London Victoria and places in between. Taxis are almost always available 24/7 (Polegate Station Taxis: 01323 728 728). It’s a c. 15-minute ride to Pekes.
The Cost
You pay for staying in our houses, and that’s all. For this, please see our Multi House Booking Price List.
Extras and hidden costs? None!
Booking Deposit: to confirm your Booking, we ask you for 30% of the Booking cost, and then Pekes will be yours. The Balance is payable 56 days before you arrive.
Damage Deposit: £200 per house payable with your Balance, returned within 5 days of departure if no problem; if there is, we discuss it with you.
Visit
You are very welcome to come and visit Pekes by appointment before and/or after you book.
Contact
To make a formal enquiry or for further information, please do not hesitate to Contact us.
Amy at events@pekesmanor.com and on 07765 405 657 (or Kildare on 07776 298 405).
Additional on-site contact details for use during your stay are given in the house Welcome Packs and on the Laundry room door.
If you got this far, then please visit our Weddings Website for more information!