Issue 51

PEOPLE
riginally from the States, Emily moved to the UK
at 21 where she met her husband Harry. Both
studied fine art and took ownership of a derelict
farm in 2008.
“Harry is from a farming family and we
originally bought the site for its land, but there
were some agricultural buildings prime for
conversion including a 15th century timber barn.
Harry is a builder and we had developed a couple
of properties so we decided to create some
holiday lets. This was the start of Creeksea Place
Barns.
“Things took off in 2010. I had been teaching
at a primary school and was on maternity leave.
I remember my son William at a day old and me working on the
website. I remember that first call from a potential guest – Harry took
it and he was so excited he wrote down the dates they wanted to stay
but no other details! That was when we decided I would handle the
bookings…”
The couple soon had six holiday lets and two hotel style rooms
and were busier than ever. Needless to say, Emily didn’t return to
teaching.
When demand called for it, the couple converted another building
into a café, originally intended to serve guests. “The café was meant
to be quite low key, serving coffee and cake to guests but the locals
love it and it has become a community hub and drives the rest of the
business.
“When the café opened we ran loads of events to get noticed,
including evening pop-up restaurants, dog festivals and themed days.
This helped build a local following. We have held our mid-summer
festival for about seven years – a two night event featuring local
bands, a craft tent, food vendors etc. and attracting about 500 people.
I absolutely love doing it!”
DIVERSIFICATION
Creeksea Place Barns has grown organically, reinvesting at every
stage as the business matures. It is still an arable farm run by Harry’s
father who has also just installed 30 acres of vines. By 2016, it had an
onsite gym and spa and, last year, added a barn venue for weddings
and events – the Canary Shed.
“We’d had a few couples hire the whole site for accommodation
for nearby weddings so we thought why not offer weddings here?
We looked around the area and tried to find a point of difference for
ourselves. We are right next door to Creeksea Place, a Tudor mansion,
which offers a traditional wedding experience but not everyone
wants that so we have gone after the ‘alternative’ market. We created
a colourful, fun, bright space – a farm feel with a modern, artistic
twist. We both love art so have had a lot of fun with original artworks,
and eclectic, homely furnishings.
“We stayed sympathetic to the original features such as the elm
beams in the barn, and even the cool corrugated iron roof on the old
industrial building that became the café. In fact we took it off, put up
a new, insulated roof then re-erected the original roof inside”.
It’s inside the new Canary Shed where Emily and Harry’s creativity
was really let loose. “We knew we wanted a chevron wall at one end
and approached a local farmer who had a lot of waste potato crates.
It was a real lockdown project, breaking up the boxes and cutting
the shapes. Harry would be in there every night piecing it together.
The offcuts were used on the other walls as randomly as possible to
create an intricate puzzle”.
STAFF
Creeksea now has a team of around 40, a long way from the days
when Emily and Harry were managing the site and working in the
café. “We had a part time cleaner but we were so busy that when one
LEX FLEMING PHOTOGRAPHY
“WHEN THE
CAFÉ OPENED
WE RAN LOADS
OF EVENTS TO
GET NOTICED,
INCLUDING
EVENING POP-
UP RESTAU-
RANTS, DOG
FESTIVALS AND
THEMED DAYS”
LEX FLEMING PHOTOGRAPHY
LEX FLEMING PHOTOGRAPHY
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