Licensed Venue for Weddings and Civil Partnerships
For more about us enjoy this profile in the local press
Hold your ceremony in the peace and quiet of a private home
Thornham Bridge is our home; an old cider barn converted in about 1990 into a four-bedroom house with walled gardens and a five-acre field on the banks of the River Erme in South Devon. We were married here in June 2010 and for this purpose applied for a Ceremonies License for three years. The current license expires in April 2022. Under the conditions of this license we may make our premises available for other suitable ceremonies, including weddings, civil partnerships, baby-namings and renewal of vows.
Thornham Bridge is very convenient, being less than 2 miles from the A38 at Ivybridge, and with plenty of space for parking in the field.
Two rooms are licensed: the Hall and the Study.
The Hall is licensed for up to 65 people. It has a full height ceiling with many exposed beams, a gallery along two walls, and a wooden staircase leading down. Here you can see the guests waiting for the ceremony to begin, with seating for about 35 on the lower floor and a further 30 around the gallery. The bride made her entrance down the gallery stairs.
The Hall has excellent acoustics with a baby grand piano for live music as well as a music system. The main entrance door has covered steps leading down into the hall and provides a fine backdrop for the couple’s exit once the ceremony is over.
The Study is a working room in constant use, and it would therefore be difficult, though not impossible, to clear it for ceremonies. It overlooks the bridge and the River Erme.
There are many opportunities for romantic photographs at Thornham. Although most of the walled gardens will remain private, the bridge itself will be available as well as some parts of the garden.
Receptions
For our own wedding we had games and a samba workshop in the field, as well as parking for about 50 cars, and camping places all along the river. Depending on the time of year it would be possible for guests to arrange a marquee in the field for their reception. Power and water are available and there is a basic kitchen opening onto the field with a fridge, microwave and hot and cold water.
Green weddings
We would welcome couples who would like to make their event as environmentally friendly as possible. We have a large solar PV installation and export more power to the grid than we use. So any electricity used would effectively be solar. We also have solar water heating. During winter we do not usually heat the hall but can do so either with gas central heating or using the fireplace with wood entirely from our own trees, making this heating carbon neutral. We have large supplies of greenery and (depending on the time of year) flowers, that could be used for decoration and would have no carbon cost. We would be happy to work with couples who would like to make their wedding or other ceremony as green as possible.
For further information please contact:
Dr Susan Blackmore
Thornham Bridge
Ermington
Devon PL21 0LG
email: sue at susanblackmore.uk
or ring 01752 894413
