Maunsel House: Couples fear cancellations at Somerset venue

A wedding fayre was cancelled at the venue in 2021

A "fairy tale" events venue has left couples' wedding plans in doubt having gone "silent" since last November.

Bride-to-be Caitlin McCann "fell in love" with Maunsel House in North Petherton, Somerset, when she booked it last summer for her June 2022 wedding.

Other events have been cancelled, including a Christmas Fayre last December, leaving small businesses out of pocket.

Maunsel Ltd, the firm which runs events at the venue, has not commented.

The BBC is aware of at least seven couples who have been affected by the uncertainty over bookings.

They said they had paid up to £3,000 for weddings at the venue but had no idea if their events will go ahead or if they will get their money back.

Owner Sir Benjamin Slade told the BBC he was neither a director nor a shareholder of Maunsel Ltd.

Caitlin McCann invited guests from different countries so changing the venue and date created a logistical nightmare

Rupert James, director of Maunsel Ltd, said via his solicitor, he was not available and had no comment to make.

Ms McCann said for her and fiance Danny Woodfield, Maunsel House was "a fairy-tale venue and ticked a lot of boxes, as it had the history and natural environment".

"It was within our price range and after seeing it we fell in love and there wasn't really anywhere else we [felt we would] choose," she said.

She said her partner's proposal was "a dream come true" and after the pandemic "it seemed like something was finally going right and this was a lovely chance to celebrate with family and friends".

However, after paying the £1,500 deposit in May and booking some of the wedding supplies, the couple said they were called in November telling them their wedding might be moved.

Mr Woodfield's parents have now offered to host the wedding on their farm

They then entered a frustrating period of trying to get answers and a refund on their reservation deposit, both of which they are still waiting for.

Ms McCann said getting "blood out of a stone is a phrase that comes to mind".

"The only way I can describe it is a passive contempt," she added.

Despite repeated phone calls and numerous e-mails, sent to a number of addresses, she said she received "limited feedback" and described her and her fiancé's emotions as "quite closely following the stages of grief that people go through, because it was a loss".

"We got angry and then frustrated and then really sad," she added.

"It got to a point where we said, we can either take action… or this will probably consume us and how we feel about our impending nuptials."

Ms McCann said although it might only seem a small amount of money they had lost, "it signified an event that did mean the world to us".

Kate Allen said her £60 loss was "not an insubstantial amount of money for a small trader"

A Christmas trade fayre was also cancelled at Maunsel House in December.

Kate Allen, from Kilve, Somerset, runs Painswick Pets and said she had paid £60 for an outside stall, but apart from one e-mail asking for her refund details, she said she had heard nothing since, "just silence".

She said: "I don't see why small traders like us have to pocket the loss. They've got our money and are not giving us the service we booked."

However, she said she was lucky her products were not perishable, because other traders were "doubly out of pocket".

Mandy Sansum said the sudden cancellation had placed her business in jeopardy

Mandy Sansum started her small business, Moment in Time Gifts, making bath bombs during the pandemic.

She had made about £260 worth of stock for the cancelled Christmas fayre and described the loss as "make or break to me".

She said she was unsure "whether I can still continue as I don't have the ingredients or the money to replace them".

"It's upsetting, it's really upsetting," she said.

"It was going to be a really nice Christmas event and now there are 40 stallholders all out of pocket because it didn't go ahead and they haven't given us our money back."