Checking in: Boys Hall is a cosy pub and restaurant with rooms on the edge of Kent's North Downs

A 400-year-old Grade II listed manor less than an hour from London has been given a new lease of life as one of the UK's cosiest pub and restaurant with rooms, tastefully decorated in the English country style and with a spectacular menu serving local comfort fare

By Arta Ghanbari

24 October 2023

Paint the picture

Upon the rather convenient arrival to Ashford – a 40-minute train journey from London’s Kings Cross – it is only a quick 10 minute taxi to reach the grand Wealden hall style manor held up by timber frames and surrounded by three acres of informal gardens. A warm glow radiates through the mullioned windows, breaking the grey fog of a winter’s dusk on my arrival and inviting you inside for a fine tipple and hearty meal by the warmth of a large open fire. Stories from the building’s over 400 years of history can almost be heard through the walls (it is even speculated that Charles I stayed here while hiding from Oliver Cromwell).

Design notes

Despite being largely traditional in design, Boys Hall feels at once familiar and somewhere we have yet to see. Working with Holloway Studio, husband-and-wife duo Kristie and Brad Lomas treaded softly to restore and reinstate the original features and charm across the maze of rooms up-and-down three floors. The interiors are unpretentious and unassuming, yet acutely considered and crafted – the result of a successful collaboration between Kagu Interiors and Kristie, who points out the GP&J Baker wallcovering in a bedroom paired with Little Green’s ‘Citrine’ paint. In another bedroom, fabrics from Linwood were sourced for the blinds, while Lewis & Wood’s ‘Joseph’ covers a headboard next to lampshades handmade by Kristie. In the main sitting area downstairs, ‘Green Smoke’ by Farrow & Ball dominates the walls and ceilings, contrasted by a row of restored timber beams and deep sofas upholstered in a Christmas berry red velvet by a big open fire with a tiled surround. The design is quintessentially English without feeling dated, and embodies the modern country look that can be so tricky to achieve given the restraints and sometimes awkward proportions of such buildings.

Food and drink

The restaurant is housed within a light-filled, glass-walled atrium style space with timber beams and skylights brought to life with a punchy palette of citrus green and berry red on the upholstery. The menu offers fresh concoctions of familiar favourites sourced locally and slowly cooked over the fire, including beef from Chart Farm dry aged for 35 days. The coal fired Turbot with Kentish mussels, savoy cabbage, Kent cider and saffron was a highlight paired with a side of 10-hour ash roasted sweet potatoes. The more informal oak-panelled pub with maroon painted walls serves small plates and snacks. While Kristie oversaw the interiors, the growing wine cellar is Brad’s domain, and he’s already collected some 4000 bottles. It is well worth coming down from London for a roast even if not planning to stay for the night.

Rooms and facilities

There are nine bedrooms on the upper floors each named after the manor’s most famous residents, including the De Bois room, named after Richard de Bois who arrived in England during the Norman Conquest in 1066 and who’s family later changed name to Boys. Boys Hall was thus named after its first owner, Thomas Boys, who built it in 1616. Each of the rooms varies in design, configuration and size, and some have generous roll-top baths.