About us

The Moat House, Slaugham Place is the home Lady Urwick. Her late husband, Sir Alan Urwick purchased the property in 1976. After 37 years of distinguished service for MI6 and the Foreign Office, the Houses of Parliament called Sir Alan to be Serjeant at Arms until his retirement.

When they moved to Slaugham, the ruins and gardens had fallen into an extreme state of disrepair. For the next forty or so years, they undertook the refurbishment works of the ruins and the garden with enormous help from Arthur Shopland from the village. They are a testament to Sir Alan’s two great passions – history and gardening.

Now the family continues to manage the wedding venue and maintain and enhance the grounds providing a personalised service for couples wanting an English countryside wedding.

The History of Slaugham Place

Slaugham Place

There was an iron furnace at Slaugham in the 1400s and the site was owned by Richard Covert. The house was built around 1590 by Richard's son, Sir Walter Covert, to a design by John Thorpe. Construction was carried out by local craftsmen but the main house fell into neglect in the 1700s and was demolished, much of the remains probably used to build the Moat House around 1749. What is left of the original Elizabethan Manor are now Grade II listed.

From 1700s to present.

The Covert's ownership came to an end in 1735. (The last remaining Covert descendent sold the property to Thomas Sergison of Cuckfield Park.) Slaugham was to remain in the Sergison family until the early 1900s.  The grounds, ruins and moat house subsequently passed though several owners; The Blundells during the 1930s and 1940s,  the Easticks in the 1960s and were finally purchased by the  Urwicks in the 1970s, the current owners.

1990s Wedding Venue

In the late 1990s the Urwicks started promoting Slaugham Place as a wedding venue to help maintain the grounds and to allow others to enjoy the wonderful peaceful setting on the upper reaches of the river Ouse.
With the proceeds from hosted events, many repairs to the moat house buildings and gardens have been carried out over the years and Slaugham Place has become one of the foremost outdoor wedding venues in the South East.