AN historic family farm and wedding venue near Calne is expanding to meet the demand of an upsurge in weddings.

Funding of £450,000 from Lloyds Bank has enabled the Maundrell family-owned Wellington Barn to develop a sustainable Hyggee House.

The environmentally-friendly house, which can sleep up to 10 wedding party guests, is fully equipped with air source heat pumps and solar panel technology to generate its own renewable electricity.

The sixth-generation family-run business has been operating a fully licensed wedding venue on its land for almost 15 years which accommodates up to 300 people for various settings including theatre-style, seated dining or full reception.

The Hyggee House is the latest addition to the farm’s accommodation options, which already includes three luxury shepherd huts and six bespoke glamping tents sleeping up to 30 guests.

The expansion has been made possible thanks to Lloyds Bank’s Clean Growth Finance Initiative, which provides discounted funding to help businesses transition to a lower carbon, more sustainable future.

Keri Maundrell, venue director, said: “During the last decade, we’ve seen a growing interest from wedding parties to build their special day around an agricultural setting and we’ve since adapted our 300-year-old family farm to accommodate this.

“We can’t deny that the effects of lockdown and the restrictions that were put in place on weddings have taken its toll on our business.

"However, it has always been our intention to invest in the future and the development of the new sustainable Hyggee House does just that.

"We can’t wait to welcome wedding party bookings into this special new property to help them prepare for, and rest after, their big day.”

Set in the Wiltshire countryside, the Maundrell family have farmed the land for more than 300 years. The sixth and seventh generations of the family currently live in the farmhouse.

Sarah North, agricultural relationship manager at Lloyds Bank, added: “As farms continue to diversify their business, we’ve seen an increasing number of customers, like Wellington Barn tap into growing demand for rural weddings with accommodation that’s just a little bit different.

“The Hygee House is testament to the forward vision of Keri and the wider team, helping their guests celebrate one of the most important days of their lives.

"We will continue to be by the side of ambitious South West businesses to help them achieve their growth plans in the most sustainable way.”