The Mansfield House Hotel looks out over the town of Hawick from high ground to the south of the River Teviot. It sits in ten acres of its own gardens close to Mansfield Park rugby ground on the outskirts of this, the largest of the Border towns. Hawick is world famous for its knitwear, particularly cashmere, and is well known to rugby enthusiasts. Its annual Common Riding is ranked as one of the world’s best parties alongside The Rio Mardi Gras in Rough Guides’ World Party book because it ‘combines the thrills of Pamplonas Fiesta de San Fermin with the concentrated drinking of Munichs Oktoberfest.’ The house was originally called Thornwood and was the private home of the Oliver family, built in 1870. These entrepreneurs of the new industrial age tastefully influenced the many distinctive architectural features, from the thistle & rose ceilings of the reception rooms to the Russian pine shutters and doors throughout the ground floor. The attention to detail in the design and finish is a testament to the skilled local craftsmen that created this fine building. The Hodgson family acquired Mansfield House in 2009 and they continue the restoration and improvements to the hotel. Public areas are already being altered and new bathrooms are scheduled for winter 2009. The gardens have been gradually restored to their former glory and the wooded hillside that surrounds the hotel is an adventurer’s playground. We still have our own spring water, although it is no longer used in the hotel and we have a growing contingent of shy red squirrels. As you might expect of a house built in the 1800s, each of the hotel’s fourteen bedrooms have their own unique personal characteristics. However, all of the bedrooms have en suite facilities with colour televisions and direct dial telephones.
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