Who We Are

Tournerbury is a small family run business.

It is run by Chris and Alice. Chris and Alice had their wedding reception at Tournerbury in 2002 and it was always a dream to give other couples the chance to experience the beauty, magic and love of Tournerbury.

This was the goal, but the single most important thing was to do this in a way that preserved and conserved the woodland into the future. Setting up a small business to provide a truly unique wedding venue but with environmental sustainability at the heart of it has been hard work. However, the joy given to so many who are now able to visit this small but beautiful site with stunning views across Chichester Harbour, that normally wouldn’t be seen at the same time as keeping the woodland in accredited first class ecological state is well worth it.

Along the journey to create our offering at Tournerbury into a truly sustainable rural venue, Chris and Alice also made three gorgeous children who are now old enough to occasionally help out and whose passion for Tournerbury's natural environment and sharing it with others shines through, making it a truly multi-generational family love affair.

And over the years the Tournerbury family has extended to include our utterly invaluable team.

They are an eclectic bunch, some more shy and retiring than others and we love them all.

Leanne and Ella are our Venue Managers, providing steady and calm oversight to events as well as a huge amount of communication and work behind the scenes of each and every special day.

Big Brian, Little Brian and Jim keep the site in tip top condition – at all times conscious of what is best for the environment whilst ensuring it looks its very best for every occasion.

Zoe and Daren and the team at Focus Cleaning make sure that Woods Cottage, the marquee, deck and shared spaces are sparkly and clean at all times as well as being Covid compliant.

We also have a host of regular Friends of Tournerbury who supply amazing food, drink, entertainment, flowers, decorations, transport and so much more depending on what each client would like.

About Tournerbury

For those who like their history lessons – many, years ago, Tournerbury Woods was thought to be a hill fort despite being at sea level.

The Bury area of the Woods is believed to have been home to a thriving community, living - and trading - from the security of their fortified settlement. This area is now a stunning bluebell site (usually flowering in April / May) and home to a heronry.

Throughout the 19th and early 20th century Tournerbury was a brickworks supplying clay bricks for house building in nearby Portsmouth. Woods Cottage, at the heart of Tournerbury was built as the brickworks' Foreman's house. Historic maps and photographs show the brickworks would have been the site of where the Tournerbrury wedding and event area is now.

In the 1950's Woods Cottage was tenanted by Keith Shackleton (a descendent of Ernest Shackleton, the famed Polar explorer). He and his family remained at Woods Cottage for a number of years. Keith was a well known wildlife artist with many of his paintings inspired by the natural beauty and environment of Tournerbury and the Chichester Harbour Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

In 1987 Chris took over responsibility for Tournerbury and over the years has refurbished Woods Cottage, managed the woodland through the seasons and helped to plant many 100's of new trees.

Who We Are

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