Expansion for historic wedding venue after £1.45m funding boost

A Victorian house and wedding venue is set for a £1.45 million transformation thanks to a development loan from specialist lender Together.

Calthwaite Hall, a stunning grade II-listed gothic mansion in the Lake District, has been restored to its former grandeur after falling into disrepair when the dairy farming family who’d lived there for half a century sold up.

Tony Kenvig, the current owner, has restored the 11-bedroom hall – in a renovation project which included repairs to most of the house and installing luxury wooden holiday lodges, and extensive renovation of the grounds and gardens to return the nine-acre site to its original layout.

Now he is expanding his wedding business by increasing the number of wooden lodges on the nine-acre site, and refurbishing Wells Cottage, a grade II-listed former outbuilding. It will be turned into a one-bedroom luxury holiday cottage to complement the hall’s Old Carriage House, which was previously re-developed into a holiday cottage.

The latest round of investment from lender Together is expected to boost the local economy and secure the long-term future of the house and grounds.

Mr Kenvig said:

“The support and funding from Together has been at the heart of our expansion plans to create more on-site accommodation for our guests as we enter into the next phase of Calthwaite Hall’s long and fascinating history.”

Initially built in 1837 as the country seat of local landowner Thomas Dixon, Calthwaite Hall was the historically-important home of the Pattinsons, a dairy farming family who were instrumental in developing semi-skimmed milk.

In 2000, they moved out, selling up their herd of pedigree Jersey milking herd in what was the UK’s biggest ever dairy cattle auction, and Mr Kenvig bought the property, near Penrith, Cumbria, eight years later.

He said: “The place was pretty much uninhabitable. The roof was a mess, there was dry rot, wet rot and all sorts of other problems.

“Finance was a problem because the hall was in such a state of disrepair but knew what I wanted to do and managed to secure funding, initially, for the first part of the project. This latest round of development finance will really help the business in the long-term.”

After careful consideration of Mr Kenvig’s business plans and funding needs, Manchester-based lender Together agreed the £1.45 million loan, secured against Calthwaite Hall and the village pub, The Globe, which he also owns.

Steve Luty, corporate development director at Together, said:

“It was clear from visiting Calthwaite and seeing the hall what a magnificent destination it is, and how far Tony Kenvig has already come in realising his vision for the place.

“At Together, we’ll always look at providing finance in more unusual or complex situations like this, and we look forward to helping out many other business owners and entrepreneurs in the future.”