A Victorian Christmas with a twist at Stoke Rochford Hall

Roll up, roll up, roll up... for a Victorian Christmas with a curious twist! Lincolnshire country house hotel Stoke Rochford Hall is not only welcoming guests on Christmas Day this year for the first time in almost a century !ut also !ringing some authentic Victorian sideshow entertainment together with traditional crafts and gifts stalls. "ew festi#e treats mean that Christmas at the magnificent Victorian mansion, set in $%&acres of countryside !eside a 'uintessential (nglish stone #illage near )rantham, will !e e*tra special this year. +hile #isitors ha#e always en,oyed cele!rating at e#ents ranging from Christmas party nights to the e#er&popular annual "ew -ear.s (#e /all, for the first time in its history the Hall will !e open right through the whole Christmas period. "ew e#ents for $012 include an indulgent and traditional feast on Christmas Day, a sumptuous roast lunch on /o*ing Day and a two&night Christmas !reak 3$4&$5 Decem!er6 & ideal for those who want to rela* and en,oy all the festi#ities, whilst someone else does all the work! 7he last time Christmas lunch was ser#ed on the /ig Day itself was in 1822 when it was still the ancestral family home of the 7urnor family, !ut Stoke Rochford will !e

turning !ack the clock e#en further in the run&up to Christmas when the Victorian stone mansion plays host to entertainment direct from the 1%00s! 9n indoor Victorian Christmas :arket 3Saturday 20 "o#em!er and Sunday 1 Decem!er6 will not only offer stalls selling traditional crafts and gifts ranging from period furniture and ,ewellery to fused glass art and fairy art & !ut all the ;atmosphere, wonderment and fun< of a Victorian tra#elling fairground curiosity sideshow. Visitors to the free family e#ent can e*perience Victorian deception and hum!ug with theatre production =7he >alace of Curiosities.. ?@or the first time in (ngland & as seen !y the crowned heads of (urope & !ehold!< promises the !illing for the tra#elling sideshow, which will also ha#e free entry. 9dding to the seasonal atmosphere, there will !e an outdoor skating rink 3tickets for 20 minute skating sessions, including !oot hire, will cost A$ for adults and A1 for children up to age 156, and festi#e refreshments, such as warm mince pies, spiced mulled wine and roasted chestnuts. 9 Christmas themed !uffet lunch will also !e ser#ed on !oth days 31$.20&$.20 !ooking re'uired6 while the /ar and /istro will also !e open from 10am each day. @or #isitors looking for e#en more history, there will !e guided tours of the mansion, which was !uilt o#er 1B0 years ago as the last of a long line of no!le houses stretching !ack to Roman times. 7he last time Christmas lunch was ser#ed & when Cing )eorge V was in the last years of his reign, ha#ing deli#ered the first Royal Christmas /roadcast a year earlier & the Hall was home to Christopher 7urnor 31%D2&18406, the last of his family to li#e in the house. /ut while the times may certainly ha#e changed, Stoke Rochford aims to deli#er good old&fashioned traditional seasonal hospitality, whether for guests simply there for the day to en,oy Christmas Day or /o*ing Day lunch or !ooking a new two&night Christmas !reak. Stoke Rochford is also popular for Christmas >arty nights, offering a chance to cele!rate amidst stately grandeur. >arty nights feature a welcome drink on arri#al, three&course seasonal menu, coffee with festi#e rum truffles, party no#elties and crackers, dancing to a resident DE & and e#en courtesy transport to and from )rantham. >rices start from A24.8B per person and partygoers can keep the festi#e atmosphere going for longer !y staying o#ernight from ,ust A$8.B0 per person, /F/. @or full details of the Victorian :arket, Christmas e#ents, party nights, festi#e !reaks and !ooking, #isit www.stokerochfordhall.co.uk or call 014D5 B20 22D.