Historic former hotel in village near Northampton sold to new owners – here’s what they plan to do with the site

A historic former hotel in a village near Northampton has been sold to new owners – here’s what they plan to do with the site.

Highgate House Hotel, in the village of Creaton, has been sold to the Christian Conference Trust (CCT) and will now act as a facility for Christian group conferences, retreats, and meetings.

John Heasman, CCT chief executive, said: “Having served over eight million believers since 1910, we are thrilled to announce the opening of Highgate House, our third centre dedicated to serving the church in fellowship and growth. We exist to see Christian ministry flourish and believe this new addition will provide a unique and affordable space for groups to gather together and strengthen their faith.

“Since reopening our centres in 2021 we’ve seen demand grow significantly and we’ve spent the last two years searching for the right place to meet that demand. Highgate House is a great location to serve as many Christian groups as possible and it’s our prayer that its spectacular 17th-century manor house and gardens will bless millions of believers throughout the next 100 years of our history."

The CCT say they hope to open the “high-quality Christian conference centre” site on June 28.

A CCT spokesman said: “Highgate House continues our legacy of providing quality facilities for Christian gatherings at great value. Equipped with large meeting halls, fully catered services and being centrally located, Highgate House will help meet the significant demand from Christian groups for affordable, quality conferencing.

"With 81 en-suite bedrooms, the venue can accommodate up to 159 adults and 30 children, making it ideal for exclusive-use events.

"Highgate House is now accepting bookings, and groups are encouraged to secure their space as soon as possible. With wide-open availability, churches and Christian organisations can lock in their preferred dates for this year and 2025.

"We will be actively looking for staff in the next month or so as we are due to open in June. We’ll be recruiting; kitchen staff, porters, front-of-house, bar and housekeeping.”

It is not known how much the site sold for however, the site up for sale on Knight Frank for £6.5 million in 2021.

Creaton villagers have reacted positively online to the news, saying it is “fantastic”.

In January 2023, the Home Office had plans to house up to 400 asylum seekers at the site.

However, after push back from villagers, West Northamptonshire Council and Chris Heaton-Harris MP, the plans were scrapped.