Curradine Barns is an exclusive wedding venue situated in the picturesque village of Shrawley, in Worcestershire. Surrounded by acres of rolling countryside, the secluded venue features a number of red-brick barns, an intimate cottage for the happy couple’s wedding night, a farmhouse for overnight guests, beautiful gardens and a courtyard for outdoor socialising and dining.
We were commissioned to increase the capacity of the wedding venue, improve the experience for arriving guests and enhance the garden. The project presented us with two challenges. First, any additions to the old barn buildings had to be carefully considered, in order to maintain the character and charm of the beautiful venue. Secondly, we and the appointed contractors had to work around booked weddings to facilitate the different elements.
The Barley Barn hosts couples’ wedding breakfasts. Its size limited the number of seated diners and the number of ways the furniture could be configured. We proposed a modest glass extension with sliding doors onto the courtyard. This increased the room size and enables larger weddings of up to 140-150 guests, while also providing much more flexibility in the way the dining furniture can be arranged.
Barley Barn (Before)
Barley Barn (After)
We designed a frameless glass extension to the Entrance Barn, to give the arrival of weddings guests more definition and anticipation. This was designed in such a way that the existing solid barn doors can be kept open on a wedding day. The addition of the extension gives the venue a greatly enhanced guest welcome, its design providing views from the entrance to the courtyard and the Main Barn.
Entrance Barn and garden (Before)
Entrance Barn and garden (After)
The third feature we addressed was the garden, with new structures and pathways added, as well as the inclusion of planting, outdoor furniture and lighting, and a stunning central water feature in the courtyard.
Courtyard (Before)
Courtyard (After)
The new enhancements to Curradine Barns have already benefitted the venue, according to Simon Robson, Managing Director, Operations at Artemis (owners of the venue), “The work undertaken at Curradine Barns by Sedley Place has made a remarkable difference to what was already an outstanding wedding venue destination. Put simply, our remit was to make a good thing even better, whilst also increasing our dining capacity, re-imagining the central courtyard, and creating a beautiful and welcoming entrance. The team took us through a genuinely inclusive and exciting design stage and then expertly navigated the planning process, plus the complexities of interested parties regarding heritage too. The result is a stunning transformation of our spaces which has exceeded our considerable expectations, which in turn has helped create considerable interest, engagement and the resulting business of our target market. They truly have made a good thing even better!”.
Photo credits:
All ‘before’ shots @paulwillettsphotography
Barley Barn after @thphotouk
Entrance Barn after @catreganphoto
Courtyard after @catreganphoto