Greyfriars House Guildford Wedding Venue | Wedding Venues in Guildford | Surrey

"Greyfriars is an outstandingly beautiful house" - English Heritage

The Greyfriars Estate was established in 1896 by the American playright Julian Sturgis.
Sturgis commissioned the leading Arts and Crafts architect, CFA Voysey to build a mansion house for a spectacular setting in the Surrey Hills, and Voysey excelled himself by producing twenty sheets of detailed drawings (now held in the collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London).

Voysey's design for the house featured the most visually impressive elevations of all his works. His plan was for one long line along a contour of the steep hillside. The entrance front is broken vertically into a number of sections, but it was the southern elevation which captured the attention of architects, writers and publishers... Greyfriars was undoubtedly the most widely published Voysey design, featuring in publications in America and Europe including Das Englishe Haus.

The commission for Greyfriars came when Voysey's career had reached its height and he was being privately engaged to produce ambitious and grand houses for the wealthy.

"One of the most remarkable English houses of the 19th century"

His eye for detail meant that he designed not only the buildings themselves but also their interiors and furnishings.

Although Voysey hated the term "modern architecture", this cutting edge work meant that he was to become the greatest influence of his time on the Modern Movement which followed. The designs for Greyfriars are still studied today by architecture and history of art students around the world.

110 years on, Greyfriars, considered by many to be Voysey's masterpiece, retains many of its original features including copper fireplaces, staircases, and of course his signature heart-shaped motifs - the letterbox, door hinges, and even heart shaped keys...
Protected by English Heritage as a "building of more than special importance" (Grade II* listed), it contains wood panelled rooms, high vaulted ceilings, impressive fireplaces and stone mullioned windows.

The house has always been in private ownership, and remains so today. Previous owners have included the Lyle family (of Tate & Lyle), the industrialist Robert Turner, and the leading civil servant and diarist Sir Mark Grant-Sturgis.