creeksea place
Essex
Creeksae Place Manor House Wedding Venue in Burnham, Essex has a rich history
and meticulously kept gardens. The ideal venue for your weeding or event. Arthur
Harris built Creeksea Place during the reign of Elizabeth 1st in 1569. It
remained in his family for five generations after which it passed to the Mildmay
family when Arthur’s great grand-daughter married Lord Mildmay. The current
owners are the Bertorelli family and they too, coincidentally, have had five
generations of ownership of this lovely historic Manor House during the reign of
another Queen Elizabeth. In the intervening four and a half centuries much has
occurred including many changes of ownership and usage. Now it is the determined
wish of the current owners to continue the task of restoring this picturesque
House to the glory it once was and to open the house and grounds up to the
public at large. Once government restrictions allow, we will be hosting a myriad
of varying and exciting public events. Arthur Harrys, as he was known in 1569,
came from Prittlewell near Southend and was an important figure in those times.
He had pledged to his Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth, to raise a hundred men who
would defend the monarchy if civil unrest ever occurred. His family flourished
and has continued to do so today. There are literally thousands of Harris
descendants around the world, particularly in the United States. Lord Mildmay
who married his great grand-daughter, was also a man of importance. Charles I
appointed him as ‘Keeper of the Crown Jewels’, a post equivalent to Chancellor
of the Exchequer today. Lord Mildmay owned many other properties in England at
this time and was a man of influence and power. So much so that he was one of
the twelve men who signed the death warrant of his King. Upon the restoration of
the monarchy in 1660 with Charles II, Lord Mildmay was also sentenced to death
for regicide – the killing of the Monarch. He was fortunate though. Due, no
doubt to his power and connections, his sentence was commuted but his power had
waned. The next significant Creeksea moment occurred in the late 17th century.
Due to the imposition of the Window Tax – tax on large houses with many windows;
the North Wing was demolished. This was a wing that extended into what is now
the car park. The footings of this part of the House was actually traced-out by
an American Harris descendent in the last few years. There is also a story that
the bricks from the North Wing were taken by barge to London where a street
called Creeksea Lane was built. In a House with so much history, myths and
legends remain abound. There are tales about secret tunnels from the House to
the nearby River Crouch used for smuggling. However, what is true is the fact
that there are no cellars in Creeksea Place, due no doubt to the relatively high
water table. This would certainly prove a problem for tunnelers. Nevertheless,
there is the remains of a gravity-fed fountain pipe that runs from the House to
one of the lakes on the Estate and also evidence of two ten foot deep ice houses
that would have been used for the preservation of vegetables and grain. There
are many ghosts! The most prominent of which involves the marriage between Lord
Mildmay and the great grand-daughter of Arthur Harris, who was not entirely
happy with the union, and so the tragic bride is said to have committed suicide.
Her ghost, known as ‘The Lady of the Lake’ has apparently been seen meandering
her way across the Lawn, down to the lakes.
