The Gillyflower

Elmore Court is a historic family estate reimagined as an award-winning wedding venue, allowing the family to remain in their ancestral home while creating a long-term income for future generations. A new event space for around 150 guests was introduced within part of the original walled garden, discreetly set behind the Grade II listed house.

From the outset, the project balanced celebration with environmental, social, and architectural care.

Guests arrive along a retained brick garden wall that gently leads from the historic fabric of the estate to the rammed earth walls of The Gillyflower beyond. This carefully choreographed threshold establishes continuity rather than contrast, signalling that the new building belongs to the estate rather than competing with it.

Material choice became central to both the environmental ethos of the family and the identity of the building.

The rammed earth walls were formed from soil excavated directly from the estate grounds, creating a circular and sustainable relationship between land and architecture. Their rich red tones reflect the character of the site itself, while a beeswax finish enhances warmth and tactility.

The mass of the rammed earth walls also provides natural acoustic containment, keeping the energy of the celebration within while preserving the tranquillity of the landscape.