One way of making money in the 15th century was to flourish in the
wool trade. There was a lot of that in Essex . Then eventually you
could afford a manor house like the one that is now the Whitehall Hotel
Stansted. Today it is still there to be marvelled at - look at that
wonderful beamed roof in the restaurant. Forget picture windows; small
ones keep it cool in summer and warm in winter.
It’s a truly lovely restored Elizabethan Manor House and it’s
only a short drive from the hotel to London Stansted airport if you’re
heading up North or overseas. Reception can give you details of the
Stay and Fly packages. What is difficult to describe is the peace that
permeates every part of an ancient building; a calm that you can’t
build or design. It just takes a lot of years. What you can do is
experience it.
Of course, behind the scenes, you won’t find Elizabethan
plumbing and the candles are for effect. Your creature comforts are all
in place. Dunmow is famous for the Dunmow Flitch; a competition to
decide which married couple is the happiest. Win it and you get a
flitch of bacon. It’s a really quaint part of the country.