Lucknam Park
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Hospitality |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Headquarters | England, United Kingdom |
Area served | United Kingdom |
Key people | Members of the Laskaridis family (managers) |
| Products | Hotel, spa, dining, equestrian centre |
Lucknam Park is an upscale hotel, spa, and dining establishment located in the western part of Wiltshire, England, situated roughly northwest of Corsham and northeast of Bath. The central structure is a Grade II listed English country house originating from the late 17th or early 18th century. Its restaurant has held a Michelin star continuously since 2006.
House
Positioned about north of Colerne, the estate was purchased in 1688 by James Wallis, a prosperous cloth manufacturer from Trowbridge, who began building the mansion, which was likely completed by his son Ezekiel. Later proprietors included the Methuen family during the late 18th century and the Walmesley family from 1870 until 1918. Among them, Richard Walmesley (1816–1893), a lawyer and justice of the peace, is notably connected to Lucknam.
The existing three-bay central section of the house originated as the two-storey Wallis residence. In 1827, ownership passed to Andreas Boode (1763–1844), a Dutch-British plantation owner in Demerara with links to enslaved labor. Boode enhanced the property by re-facing it with ashlar stone, introducing a ground-floor loggia supported by four pairs of Doric columns, and adding two-storey wings terminating in curved pavilions. This resulted in a facade described as "impressively long."
Between 1919 and 1920, Sir Alfred Read—chairman of Coast Lines, then the UK’s largest coastal shipping firm—undertook remodeling of the house. The central portion was modified to include a three-gabled attic and tall chimneys reflecting Jacobean style; interior spaces and the rear elevation were also modernized. While Nikolaus Pevsner dismissed these Jacobean elements as an "excrescence," more recent evaluations regard them as merely "spurious."
Adjacent to the house stands a tall water tower dating from the late 19th century; its present flat parapet and corner urns are the result of alterations made in 1937 designed by Oswald Brakspear.
In 1960, Lucknam Park received designation as a Grade II listed building.
Hotel
The property was acquired in 1987 and commenced operations as a hotel in 1988 under Lucknam Park Hotels Ltd. The company is managed by members of the Laskaridis family, who own Greek shipping enterprises and hospitality ventures worldwide. The hotel’s amenities include a spa and an equestrian centre.
Associated buildings
The stables block with its two-storey coach house, constructed in 1834 for J. C. Boode, creates a courtyard alongside the rear facade of the main house. Within the kitchen garden stands a large octagonal dovecote from the 19th century noted for both its size and relatively late construction date.
At the estate’s northern entrance, an Italianate-style lodge built in 1854 features a substantial stone archway flanked by a two-storey lodge building and an adjacent taller campanile tower. Near the main residence, Middle Lodge was designed in neo-Regency style by Oswald Brakspear.