Champneys#Resorts

The earliest record of an estate associated with the Champneys name is in 1307. It appears in the Tring manor court rolls for 1514. It was owned by successive landowning families in the Wigginton, Hertfordshire and surrounding area between the 14th and 19th centuries, although for a short period around 1535 it is recorded as owned by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury.{{cite web|url=https://guide-to-the-archive.rothschildarchive.org/rothschild-family-collection/depts/estates/champneys-estate-tring-hertfordshire|title=Champneys Estate, Tring, Hertfordshire|publisher=Rothschild family papers|access-date=19 January 2020}}

The grounds and original house were inherited in 1871 by the Rev. Arthur Sutton Valpy. He replaced the original building by the current French Second Empire styled house built in 1874 which stood in extensive grounds.[http://thecountryseat.org.uk/2013/06/19/rothschild-shire-the-wider-fate-of-a-nations-country-houses-mirrored-in-a-family/ Rothschild-shire: the wider fate of UK country houses mirrored in a family (1/3)], accessed 18 January 2015 In 1900, Champneys was sold to Lady Rothschild;[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/herts/vol2/pp314-317#h3-0003 British History on Line -Wigginton, Hertfordshire], Accessed 18 January 2015[http://www.hertfordshire-genealogy.co.uk/data/places/places-c/champneys/champneys.htm Hertfordshire Genealogy Champneys], Accessed 18 January 2015 the family had owned nearby Tring Park Mansion since 1872.{{cite web|url=https://guide-to-the-archive.rothschildarchive.org/rothschild-family-collection/depts/estates/tring-park-estate-hertfordshire|title=Tring Park estate, Hertfordshire|publisher=Rothschild family papers|access-date=19 January 2020}}

In 1925 Stanley Lief (1890–1962), a pioneer in the field of naturopathy, bought Champneys, converting it into a Nature Cure resort which he ran from the 1930s for about 20 years.see Naturopathy in the UK on the website of The General Council and Register of Naturopaths, http://www.naturopathy.org.uk/history.asp Champneys at Tring continued as a health resort with varying degrees of success, latterly under the ownership of a Middle Eastern consortium, until it was bought by Stephen Purdew in 2002.{{cite web|url=http://startups.co.uk/champneys-stephen-purdew/|title=Stephen Purdew|publisher=Start-ups|access-date=1 November 2015}} The house with associated buildings is set in landscaped grounds of around {{convert|200|acre|km2}}.{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/companies/article/champneys-moves-to-high-street-lh9qxd8g7s9|title=Champneys moves to high street|work=The Times|date=17 September 2006|access-date=19 January 2020}}

File:Eastwell Manor, Kent 4.jpg

Champneys is the brand name of a destination spa group, comprising four spa resorts, two hotels and two day spas owned by the Purdew family. Named after the spa in Tring, Hertfordshire, which opened in 1925, the first spa in the group was in fact Henlow Grange, followed by Forest Mere near Liphook and Springs. It was only when Tring was acquired that the group of spa resorts combined under the Champneys brand name.{{cite book|last=Purdew|first=Dorothy|title=The Long Road to Champneys|year=2011|publisher=Infinite Ideas Ltd|isbn=978-1906821500}} Spa hotels were then added to the portfolio, including Eastwell Manor and Mottram Hall.{{cite news|newspaper=Kent Online|date=25 October 2016|first=Chris|last=Price|title=Champneys to buy Eastwell Manor in Ashford|url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent-business/county-news/champneys-buys-eastwell-manor-114596/|accessdate=17 September 2021}}{{cite news|newspaper=The Caterer|date=1 October 2018|first=Janet|last=Harmer|title=Cheshire's Mottram Hall snapped by Champneys spa resort company|url=https://www.thecaterer.com/news/hotel/cheshires-mottram-hall-snapped-by-by-champneys-spa-resort-company|accessdate=17 September 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/01297142/filing-history|title=Champneys Henlow Limited|website=Companies House|accessdate=17 September 2021}} Subsidiaries are listed towards the end of each "Group of companies' accounts" document, for example page 37 in the 30 April 2020 report.

In 2004, £150,000 was raised for Breast Cancer Care, Tommy's Charity and the Disability Foundation were supported in 2006, raising a combined sum of £100,000. The Champneys Charitable Foundation was registered with the Charity Commission on 31 May 2006.[http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/CharityFramework.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1114429&SubsidiaryNumber=0 1114429 - CHAMPNEYS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION Charity framework Publisher Charity Commission], Accessed 26 September 2018

In July 2011, Sir Paul Stephenson, Metropolitan Police Commissioner, resigned over a stay at Champneys Tring, part of which had been a gift from Stephen Purdew,[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/jul/18/champneys-spa-paul-stephenson-phone-hacking Champneys: the spa that helped secure Sir Paul Stephenson's fate Publisher The Guardian 18 July 2011], Accessed 18 January 2015 and in an interview in The Guardian in August the same year, Purdew explained that certain clients receive discounts on the basis of their celebrity status or if they are journalists or hold high-ranking positions in public office: "These rugby players are paying, but they're coming on a concession rate because it's just making the place buzz. We do that with actors and journalists and dignitaries. It makes Champneys 'The Place'."[https://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/aug/11/stephen-purdew-champneys-interview The networker who made Champneys' name The Guardian Published 11 August 2012], Accessed 18 January 2015

In 2020, The Observer gave Champneys an award for the year's "worst customer service" after it denied customers refunds for bookings cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, despite a contractual clause guaranteeing refunds for cancellations due to exceptional circumstances, then closed its phone lines.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/dec/27/in-the-year-of-covid-the-awards-for-worst-customer-service-go-to|title=In the year of Covid, the awards for worst customer service go to...|date=27 December 2020|access-date=30 December 2020|work=The Observer|first=Anna|last=Tims}}

In 2014, Champneys Tring was the subject of an ITV documentary by Richard Macer.{{cite web|last=Raeside|first=Julia|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jul/11/champneys-black-market-britain-tv-review|title=Champneys; Black Market Britain: Undercover Sting – TV review|website=The Guardian|date=11 July 2014|access-date=10 March 2020}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.champneys.com Champneys Company Website]
• [http://www.champneyscollege.com/ Champneys Beauty College Website]

{{UK Hotels}}

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Category:Hotel chains in the United Kingdom

Category:Hotel spas

Category:Hotels in Hertfordshire

Category:Rothschild family residences