The renowned art dealer behind London’s Hauser & Wirth gallery, Max Wigram, teamed up with chef Margot Henderson to reinvent a 17th-century inn in Batcombe, near Bruton, as both a country hotel serving Busy London Executives and a fine-dining restaurant.
Max’s project was clear: restore the historic building’s character while equipping it as a top-tier hospitality venue—five luxurious en-suite bedrooms, a cosy locals’ bar, two elegant dining rooms and a field-to-fork kitchen all under one slate roof The Three Horseshoes.
The Three Horseshoes may boast flagstone floors and exposed timbers, but beneath its period charm lurked many demands. There was no three-phase electrical supply—an almost universal requirement for a commercial kitchen—and the extraction system had to be delicately woven through the fabric of the Grade I-listed inn so that diners in the courtyard, guests in the bedrooms and villagers strolling past the church of St Mary the Virgin would never glimpse a naked stainless-steel duct.
We began by liaising with mains-gas suppliers to power the kitchen entirely on gas, sidestepping the limitations of the existing electrical infrastructure. The extraction runs were then plotted in 3D so that they snaked invisibly through attic voids and discreet ceiling voids, surfacing only at roof level behind custom louvres that match the inn’s stone façades.
Meanwhile, Margot Henderson insisted on the very best kit money could buy. We sourced German combination ovens for precision cooking, paired them with British-made Forster refrigeration and rounded out the bar with Hoshizaki ice machines from Japan—every piece chosen for performance, reliability and longevity. To ensure the menu lived up to the surroundings, a London-based consultant (formerly of Soho House’s Babington House) worked with Henderson to craft a plate list designed to delight busy city executives seeking a rural escape.
With the plant concealed, the gas-powered kitchen and bar now occupy a seamless flow from prep to plate, and guests wander between polished wood tables and open fireplaces without a hint of industrial kit in sight. The Three Horseshoes opened to Michelin-Guide recognition, Top 50 Gastropub accolades and glowing reviews praising both its period ambience and its “gutsy, fuss-free” cuisine MICHELIN Guide Remodelista. Today, the inn stands as a testament to marrying heritage with high performance—a true destination for food lovers and country-house lovers alike.
Max Wigram, the renowned art dealer behind London’s Hauser & Wirth gallery, teamed up with chef Margot Henderson to reinvent a 17th-century inn in Batcombe, near Bruton, as both a boutique country hotel and a fine-dining restaurant.
The brief was clear: restore the historic building’s character while equipping it as a top-tier hospitality venue—five luxurious en-suite bedrooms, a cosy locals’ bar, two elegant dining rooms and a field-to-fork kitchen all under one slate roof The Three Horseshoes.
The Three Horseshoes may boast flagstone floors and exposed timbers, but beneath its period charm lurked many demands. There was no three-phase electrical supply—an almost universal requirement for a commercial kitchen—and the extraction system had to be delicately woven through the fabric of the Grade I-listed inn so that diners in the courtyard, guests in the bedrooms and villagers strolling past the church of St Mary the Virgin would never glimpse a naked stainless-steel duct.
We began by liaising with mains-gas suppliers to power the kitchen entirely on gas, sidestepping the limitations of the existing electrical infrastructure. The extraction runs were then plotted in 3D so that they snaked invisibly through attic voids and discreet ceiling voids, surfacing only at roof level behind custom louvres that match the inn’s stone façades.
Meanwhile, Margot Henderson insisted on the very best kit money could buy. We sourced German combination ovens for precision cooking, paired them with British-made Forster refrigeration and rounded out the bar with Hoshizaki ice machines from Japan—every piece chosen for performance, reliability and longevity. To ensure the menu lived up to the surroundings, a London-based consultant (formerly of Soho House’s Babington House) worked with Henderson to craft a plate list designed to delight busy city executives seeking a rural escape.
The outcome
With the plant concealed, the gas-powered kitchen and bar now occupy a seamless flow from prep to plate, and guests wander between polished wood tables and open fireplaces without a hint of industrial kit in sight. The Three Horseshoes opened to Michelin-Guide recognition, Top 50 Gastropub accolades and glowing reviews praising both its period ambience and its “gutsy, fuss-free” cuisine MICHELIN Guide Remodelista. Today, the inn stands as a testament to marrying heritage with high performance—a true destination for food lovers and country-house aficionados alike.
From your initial design to full fit out, our team of designers, suppliers and
builders are here to take your F&B idea from concept to delivery.
From your initial design to full fit out, our team of designers, suppliers and builders are here to take your F&B idea from concept to delivery.
