Moor Hall Hotel: a family-run Sutton Coldfield country house with Tudor roots

Just a short drive from Birmingham, surrounded by parkland in Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield, Moor Hall Hotel and Spa offers a country house escape with more than 500 years of history behind it.

The estate is first recorded in the 1300s. Its most famous resident was John Harman, better known as Bishop Vesey, who rose to prominence under Henry VIII. In 1527 Vesey built a substantial brick mansion on the site and is said to have entertained the king there, which may help explain Sutton Coldfield's royal charter. Vesey became a great benefactor of the town, funding a market, paved streets and bridges and founding a grammar school, and he obtained the Sutton Park lands for the town. He died in 1555.

The house visitors see today is younger. In 1903 Colonel Edward Ansell, a brewer and Birmingham alderman, bought the estate, demolished the old hall and built a new mansion, completed in 1905, with Tudor-style chimneys and a clock tower. Local craftsmen carved the woodwork and stonework on site. The Ansell family stayed until the estate was auctioned in 1930 and bought by the Streather family for £35,000.

The modern chapter began in 1961, when Michael Webb and Whittalls Wines bought Moor Hall. It opened that August as a private members' club, and in 1972 it gained a full licence and became Moor Hall Hotel and Country Club. A fitness centre with an indoor pool followed in 1991 and a new leisure centre in 2003. The Webb family marked 60 years of ownership in 2021 and still owns the hotel today.

Guests can choose from 83 bedrooms. Dining options include the Oak Room Brasserie, open every evening, the Country Kitchen carvery on Sundays, Lounge Bar 1905 and afternoon tea served daily. The spa and leisure club offer a chance to unwind after a day exploring.

The location makes it a fine base for walkers and families. Sutton Park, the green space Bishop Vesey secured for the town, is close by, and Four Oaks railway station gives easy access to central Birmingham.

For a stay with a sense of history and a family welcome, room details are on the Moor Hall Hotel website.