New lease of life planned for Manor wedding venue

Kieran Molloy Local Democracy Reporter

A popular former wedding venue could become a guesthouse if the local council gives the go-ahead.

Gileston Manor, in the Vale of Glamorgan, stopped hosting weddings in late 2025 due to the ill health of one of the owners of the property.

Now plans have been filed with Vale of Glamorgan Council to use the manor as a guesthouse while retaining use as a “permanent residence dwellinghouse”.

The application reads: “The manor house comprises of a number of function rooms and a total of nine bedrooms, eight of which are proposed to be let to guests for overnight stay for up to two-to-three nights. The remaining rooms of the house will continue to be occupied by the applicant (owners and occupiers) as their main home.

“The rooms are proposed to be available for let all year round (excluding the Christmas and New Year holiday period), however, as the nature of events is seasonal, it is anticipated that the rooms will mostly be let throughout the months between April and September.”

According to the applicant, Lorraine Garrad-Jones, using the Grade II-listed manor as a guesthouse would “positively influence the local and rural economy” and “assist in meeting the ever-growing demands of the business through the provision of more on site, bespoke, high-quality accommodation”.

The rooms are planned to be offered to let in association with the venue hire therefore “the rooms will be let out on a two-to-three-night basis at any one time, however the applicant is keen to keep the time period flexible so that stays can be extended on a case-by-case basis.”

Gileston Manor originated in the 16th century and underwent changes in the 18th and 19th centuries to become a “Queen Anne-style manor house”.

In regard to the local area planning documents read: “The present-day character of Gileston remains rural with the entrance to the hamlet being defined by the listed limestone walls and trees – which contain the manor and church.

“This lane curves and undulates gently and then reaches a small ‘crossroads’ in the centre of the Gileston which is created by the intersection of the three lanes leading to the north, northeast, and south.”

This application comes after a similar previous application, although with an expansion not included in current plans, was withdrawn due to the officer’s report recommended refusal.

The officer’s report for the previous application reads: “The expansion of the wedding and event use to encompass the whole site would authorise it to take place closer to neighbouring residences resulting in an unacceptable risk of excessive noise and disturbances that would cause regular harm to neighbouring amenity during unsociable hours.”