Lords of the Manor 2026

Devon, UK · Easter 2026

Four days over Easter in Cadhay, a Tudor manor in Devon, with the whole house to ourselves.

The group gathers outside the manor house for a photo.

Mates in the manor

Lords of the Manor was the first residential: four days and three nights over the Easter bank holiday, with the whole of Cadhay, a Tudor manor near Ottery St Mary, to ourselves. The house was built in 1550 and has a Georgian dining room from 1739, a library with a Tudor fireplace, a museum of its own, a Steinway grand piano, table tennis in the attic, and grounds with medieval fishponds.

Chris was clear about what kind of stay it was going to be.

"Think of it more as mates in the manor vs a stay at Gleneagles."

Chris, on the booking page

Most meals were catered or cooked together in the Aga kitchen ("Don't worry, there are 2 dishwashers and three fridges for all the supplies"), with a formal dinner on the Saturday. Chris planned to bring his tiramisu and his mac and cheese, and guests were invited to bring a game, a recipe or a film of their own. Sixteen of us stayed in the house.

Guests share lunch at long tables in the manor's flint courtyard.
The manor's flint-and-stone courtyard under a clear sky.

Friday

The doors opened at six with a welcome drink. Dinner was a relaxed buffet. "We may be in Devon, but the Sangria will be flowing (you can take me out of Madrid, but...)." After dinner the plan was games and chats, and the start of the optional ping-pong tournament.

A guest lines up a croquet shot as the sun sets behind the hedge.
The manor house under a clear blue sky.

Saturday

Breakfast was self-serve in the kitchen. The rest of the morning was free: the grounds, the museum, the library, the piano. In the afternoon the group played croquet on the lawn, and later there were board games, a film in the snug, or whatever anyone had brought.

At seven there were cocktails, then a formal three-course dinner in the dining room. The dress code was "smart, but not black tie. Whatever you feel comfortable in." After dinner the plan was parlour games: Sardines, in what the booking page called "this humungous manor", and possibly some singing round the piano.

A gravel path cuts through manicured hedges in the garden.
Guests share a warmly lit dinner in the courtyard at dusk.

Sunday

Sunday's plan began with an Easter egg hunt, then a walk through the Devon countryside with a stop at a local pub, and back for afternoon tea: sandwiches, cakes and scones. The evening was left open, because by then, as the itinerary put it, "we'll have got to know each other".

Still water and reeds on the manor's pond under a grey sky.
Guests share lunch at long tables in the manor's stone courtyard.

Monday

After a last breakfast, everyone was given a fond farewell at the front door. That moment ended up on TikTok too.

The manor house entrance seen past parked cars and iron gates.
A guest looks out over the grounds from a manor window seat.

Afterwards

A promotional film was shot at the house, over croquet, table tennis, the lake and the piano. It opens with Chris to camera.

"Why should you come on a No Sex Gay Weekend? Because it can take you to places like this."

Chris, on TikTok

Asked on a podcast afterwards what made a residential different, he put it simply: "everyone was staying together in one massive house and normally people don't stay together." It was, he said, "amazing, but extremely hard work."

Two friends recline in armchairs by the fireplace.
A long table laid out with sandwiches and afternoon snacks.

What people said

"Just an amazing opportunity to be thrown in with like-minded strangers in a potentially awkward setting."

A guest

"The concept is the winning formula, tapping into a strong need many of us in the community have."

A guest

"It was nice to connect with a group of other gay men who just wanted to connect. There was a great variety of introverts and extroverts and bonding with each was special."

A guest

In pictures

Guests chat beside the spread of food indoors.
Guests pause beside memorial plaques inside a church.
A costumed figure swings between two old trees on the manor lawn.
Three friends play piano and guitar together in a manor sitting room.
Guests gather on the lawn for a game of croquet by the old manor.
Two friends pose together by the pond in the manor grounds.
A long table laid out with sandwiches and afternoon snacks.
Friends sprawl across the sofas in a book-lined sitting room.
Three friends lean in together on the sofa, deep in conversation.
A man crouches by the fireplace, firelight warm against the dark room.
A guest in Victorian dress lines up a croquet shot on the lawn.
Warm light catches a guest adjusting his cuff in the hallway.
Figures caught in a shaft of light in a darkened room.
Friends settle into the sofas around the fireplace.
Two friends deep in conversation across facing armchairs.
Guests raise a toast at the long dinner table beneath the portrait.
Two friends smile for a close selfie indoors.

15 attendees

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