From the outside they all evoke The Importance of Being Ernest - all manor houses set in impossibly manicured gardens made for a stroll, or gin and tonic at sunset. Yet today, their insides are resolutely chintz-free, revved up with Jacuzzis, beauty spas and a contemporary take on the classic English country home.
Carved in stone above the garden gate is the date 1697 with the initials 'B.B", Brereton Bouchier, squire of Barnsley, who built the original house of locally quarried Cotswold stone.
Originally a 16th century dairy farm, the hotel's main building and restaurant overlook acres of marshland. Inside however is about as far from harsh faming land as you can get.
Close to London, The Grove has travelled the centuries from being the pre-Elizabethan home to a line of Earls of Clarendon through to the weekend retreat for media darlings and execs.
