A TREASURED country house that shut due to owner illness will reopen its doors as a "quintessentially English" events venue.

Award-winning Fallowfields Country House and Hotel, which disappointed a loyal following of customers when it suddenly closed in January, will relaunch this month as a "blank canvas" for brides-to-be and bespoke party organisers.

The former fine-dining hotel in Southmoor, owned by Peta Lloyd and husband Anthony Lloyd, has been taken over by marketing whizz Stefan Wesley and rebranded as Fallowfields.

The 28-year-old general manager, who moved into the building last month, said: "It's such a big beautiful location, it would be great to see it busy again. That's the whole point. It's been there for the public to use for a long time .

"We want to do our best to keep this house here. The owners don't want to sell the house if we can make it successful and make it the place it deserves to be."

When the Oxford Mail spoke to 71-year-old Mr Lloyd in February, he said he was being tested for cancer and planned to sell the hotel to move closer to family in London.

But Mr Wesley said: "He's getting better every day. It's just a case of enjoying that step back – it was so full-on."

The owners sold off a chunk of the grounds, which was approved last year, for a 43-house estate being built by Rectory Homes.

Mr Lloyd said he was "very pleased" to have enlisted a new manager, adding: "His vibrant background and unique skills will be a great asset.

"We are excited to see it being enjoyed by the public once again as it has been for many years.”

Mr Wesley is CEO and founder of Sigma Digital marketing agency, which will manage Fallowfields under his guidance.

He added: "Fallowfields is something a little bit different. It's a very quintessentially English venue with a fairly contemporary feel. The grounds are beautiful.

"It's not a set package - it's about creating the best possible day. It's a blank canvas in essence."

Hotel rooms and the restaurant are still out-of-bounds, though he said if someone wanted to hire the hotel in its entirety it could be done.

The stone building will be transformed at the venue's Great Gatsby-themed launch party on August 27, which promises guests champagne and canapés with lashings of lavish decorations.

Mr Wesley said they will also put on quarterly events of their own such as Christmas parties and champagne tea, which can be paid for using restaurant vouchers for any customers who did not manage to get a refund before the closure.

He said he believed all deposits for weddings that were set to happen during the closure had been refunded, but invited people to ring Sigma Digital on 01869 255788 if they had not been.

A new website is currently under construction.