Set in 500 acres of rolling pastureland, Notley Tythe Barn is a stunning 12th Century structure with an ancient and spiritual ambience which adds a magical edge to all manner of celebration. In 1991 the barn was lovingly restored by owners, Nick and Denise Reynolds. Now its beam-raftered roof, its magnificent whitewashed hall and gallery echo not to the noise of harvest toil but to the sounds of wedding celebrations.
The Reynolds family have been farming Notley for over 350 years and when Nick and Denise transformed the barn into a romantic wedding venue they wanted to make sure that it too shared the same family-run feel as the rest of the farm. Every detail is meticulously planned in advance, from the ceremony (Notley has a civil licence) to the seating, music, food and drinks.
We have a wonderful chef, Petr, who cooks everything from scratch and we have installed the latest top of the range Rationale ovens, as used at Buckingham Palace, which are technically very clever. We can cater for 140 guests seated in the barn or more with the use of an additional marquee if required. As many ingredients as possible are sourced locally with all the eggs used being free range. The Notley lamb, slow cooked for twelve hours, is a particular house speciallity.
We feel we are very experienced now having hosted over 2000 weddings in over 30 years and are used to coping with any eventuality. We’re a small team and work with our couples to create exactly the wedding of their dreams. We’ve done medieval fancy dress, with groom and ushers in full armour, a fairy wedding and Hindu services, as well as many traditional English weddings, we’re very adaptable!
"We’re incredibly lucky the barn is still here” says Denise “The Abbey was trashed by Henry VIII, during the ‘Dissolution of the Monasteries’, leaving only the old Abbots House and then there was the civil war and barn fires etc., but somehow hidden away up here the barn has survived."