Nevill Holt Estate
The stage and balcony inside Nevill Holt theatre

Every June · Nevill Holt Theatre

The Nevill Holt Festival.

An arts and culture festival in the Leicestershire countryside each June — opera, concerts, conversations, performances and exhibitions, built on a decade of opera at Nevill Holt. Ten acres of private garden at their best, and the theatre in the old stable courtyard.

Visit the Nevill Holt Festival websiteWhat’s onStay for the Nevill Holt Festival

The theatre

An award-winning theatre.

The theatre sits in the old stable courtyard, surrounded by the private gardens and set against the Hall. The Observer has called it arguably the best little opera house in the country; the Telegraph, a five star experience.

The programme has broadened well beyond opera — concerts, talks, performances and art — while keeping the thing that made it work: a small house, close to the stage, in the middle of the countryside.

The auditorium at Nevill Holt, seen from the stage — raked seating below a curved balcony, between the original stone walls of the stable block
The theatre from the gardens — the old stable block with its clock tower, roses and lavender in frontThe stage and the curve of the balcony inside the theatre

Sculpture

Gormley, Whiteread, Quinn, Allen Jones — in the grounds, not a gallery.

Modern British sculpture is placed through the gardens and grounds, including works by Antony Gormley, Rachel Whiteread, Allen Jones and Marc Quinn. You come across them on the way somewhere else, which is the right way to meet them.

A bronze horse’s head standing above the borders in the gardens at Nevill Holt, with the valley beyond

The gardens in June

Ten acres, at the exact peak of the year.

The private gardens were designed by Chelsea gold medallist Rupert Golby, and June is when they are worth the trip on their own.

Sculpture standing above the borders in the gardens at Nevill HoltThe walled garden at Nevill Holt in early summer
  • In front of the Hall‘Cerise Bouquet’ roses along the borders
  • Kitchen GardenPink and creamy peonies in flower
  • Walled & Italian GardenPerennials and roses, and a good deal of scent
  • Cedar LawnFoxtail lilies and delphiniums under an ancient Cedar of Lebanon

Why it exists

The estate has backed the arts since the thirteenth century. The Nevill Holt Festival is how it does that now.

Since 2013 Nevill Holt has brought thousands of local children and young artists to live theatre and music, through Nevill Holt Community Arts, a registered charity.

6New works premiered in 2024
40Emerging musicians mentored
10Emerging singers championed
2,000Young people reached

Nevill Holt Festival week

Stay on the estate for the Nevill Holt Festival.

Eight cottages sleeping four to fourteen — Gardeners Cottage, The Stone House, Buffalo Lodge and South Cottage within a walk of the theatre, the rest a short drive. Take Port Hill House for a party of fourteen, Gardeners Cottage for five, or The Old Stables for two of you and an early night.

Nevill Holt Festival week is the busiest of the year for the cottages. If June matters to you, book it a long way out.

See the houses

  • WhenEach June. The 2027 programme is still to be announced
  • TicketsThrough the Nevill Holt Festival at nevillholtfestival.com — we do not sell them
  • DiningArranged by the Nevill Holt Festival. See their dining and your visit pages
  • MembershipThe Nevill Holt Festival runs memberships, donations and gift vouchers — details here
  • Box officeNevill Holt Theatre, Market Harborough, Leicestershire LE16 8EG · +44 (0)1858 437 451

Programme, tickets, dining and everything about your visit are on the Nevill Holt Festival’s own website.

nevillholtfestival.com

Not sure which house fits?

Tell us when, how many of you, and which part of the world. We will suggest one.

Enquire