Tiny by name, Tiny by number, but definitely big in content. Last year we introduced a series of Tiny Tours that would allow small numbers of visitors to return to the Hall, and they were so popular we’re doing it all again this year.
Tickets are £18 per person, including tea and cake. Please see below for further details, including how to book.
We are delighted to be opening the doors once more, and welcoming visitors back to the Hall. If you’ve visited the Hall before, you will notice some of the changes we have made to ensure your visit keeps you and us as safe as possible.
We have have carried out a COVID-19 risk assessment and put carefully-planned social distancing and safety measures in place. We are pleased to confirm that we have been awarded ‘Good to Go’ status by Visit England, but please read the information below so that you know what to expect when you visit us. You can also find information in the following video…
Yes you do – all visits to Markenfield this year need to be pre-booked.
The Hall is a historic building, made up of a number of small household rooms (and a larger one!). To facilitate social distancing, we will be selling tickets for guided tours, and limiting the number of people per tour to 10. This allows us to ensure a 2m distance between households.
For the safety of our staff and visitors, we ask that face coverings are worn at all times, except by those who are exempt from having to do so. Visitors are welcome to bring their own mask, but there will be disposable ones available on the door. Staff and Guides will be wearing face coverings when they are not working behind a screen.
There will be hand sanitiser at the entrance to the Hall, and throughout. Visitors will be asked to use it before entering the building and during their visit.
Our online booking system will support the NHS Track and Trace service by collecting the name and contact details of the lead person in the party. However, in accordance with updated guidelines, it is a government requirement that all visitors to the Hall, over the age of 16, must provide details for Track and Trace purposes.
Once you have booked your tour, you will receive a confirmation email. Please reply to this email stating how many Households or Bubbles are in your party and the name and contact details of each person.
This information will only be used to help stop the spread of the virus and will be handled in accordance with GDPR and our own privacy policy. This means that details which are provided manually will be stored securely and destroyed after 21 days.
We most certainly do – in fact there are some days when we seem to do nothing but clean! As we only carry out one tour each day, we clean once our visitors have left ready for the next day. The majority of our surfaces are wooden – handrails, chairs and doors – and having taken advice from Historic Houses, we clean with an 80% alcohol cleaner that kills 99.99% of all known germs.
Surfaces will be cleaned after each tour, but we ask that you refrain from touching anything you do not need to – to keep the Owners and staff safe.
In addition, we respectfully ask that customers in our shop refrain from touching items that they do not intend to buy. Contactless payments are preferred, but we will accept cash where this is not possible.
We do – but not in the main house. The Undercroft loo will not be available, but the facilities in the Gatehouse will be open. We cannot provide you with antibacterial soap (septic tank!) but there will be soap, hot water, disposable paper towels and more hand sanitizer there.
Click the button below to go to our What’s On page – all our Tiny Tour date will be listed on there.
If you’d like to bring your own bubble of friends and family on a private tour, do give us a call to see what dates we have available. We can seat up to five households safely, and a maximum of 6 people – and don’t forget the cake. Tours are not strictly child friendly, as they are historical in nature, but do let us know if you would like to bring a younger group and we will see what we can do. Please telephone or email to discuss dates and options. £120 per tour (fixed price).
Hooray – the return of the cake!
We are delighted to be serving tea and cake once more – life is rather sad without it (although we’re all just that little bit thinner!).
We will be serving tea and cake in the Great Hall before morning tours, and after afternoon tours. Tables will be spaced 2m apart and the tea and cake will have been prepared by staff wearing a mask, disposable apron and gloves.
We regret that our Public Liability Insurance does not allow us to cater for food allergies, although our Cake Lady can cater for Gluten Intolerance if you let us know in advance.