Phene House

The villa

Phene House has never been interested in behaving like a conventional country house.

Behind its handsome 1882 Somerset - stone exterior, gothic arches and original tiled floors meet contemporary art, mid - century furniture and rooms alive with colour and pattern. Gothic arches, tiled floors, old stone and fireplaces remain with contemporary art, mid - century pieces, saturated colour and unexpected pattern. The result feels glamorous without becoming precious; a house assembled with instinct rather than decorated by formula.

Seven individually designed bedrooms are joined by generous drawing and dining spaces, a marble - lined kitchen and the separate Limestone Gem annexe, allowing fourteen or more guests to come together without sacrificing privacy.

Outside, twelve acres unfold around a restored walled garden, where the heated pool sits beneath mature planting. Elsewhere there is a wood - fired sauna and cold plunge, private gym, football pitch and a stretch of the River Mells for wild swimming.

Lunch might begin beside the pool, move to the terrace and finish around the firepit. Dinner can be cooked over the Argentinian grill or left to a private chef. And with Frome, Bruton and Bath within easy reach, Phene House has Somerset at its disposal, though leaving it may prove the harder decision.

Phene House sits in twelve private acres at Great Elm, in the kind of Somerset location that makes it possible to spend one day almost entirely at home and the next moving between some of the county’s best food, art and historic landscapes.

Frome is around ten minutes away, with independent shops, cafés and a strong food scene that has only become more interesting in recent years. Rye Bakery Cafe is an easy morning stop, while The High Pavement and Bistro Lotte are among the town’s established addresses. A 2026 local food guide describes Frome as one of Somerset’s most compelling gastronomic towns outside Bath.

Bruton, around fifteen minutes away, brings a different kind of draw. Hauser & Wirth Somerset has helped turn this small town into one of the South West’s most recognisable cultural destinations, and the food scene has developed around it. Osip restaurant, now set in a former country inn just outside town, offers a farm - led tasting experience, while Briar and The Old Pharmacy add to the sense that Bruton punches well above its size.

Closer still is Mells, one of Somerset’s prettiest villages, where The Talbot Inn combines the atmosphere of a fifteenth - century coaching inn with a kitchen focused on local meat, game, Cornish fish and produce from its own garden.

Further afield, Bath is around half an hour away for Georgian architecture, galleries and restaurants, while Wells, Glastonbury and Stourhead are all within easy reach. The Newt in Somerset also makes a strong day out for gardens, food and design, with The Botanical Rooms offering a more formal dining stop.

The immediate setting, though, is quieter: lawns, mature trees, wildflower meadow and the River Mells running along the edge of the estate. Walks begin from the property, and the wider countryside links easily into local footpaths and cycling routes.

That contrast is one of Phene House’s strengths. You can spend the morning by the pool, lunch at a country pub, visit Hauser & Wirth in the afternoon and be back in time for dinner around the marble island or cancel the lot and stay exactly where you are.