Just off the busy A14 three miles out of the ancient market town of Bury St Edmunds, Ravenwood Hall nestles in a lawn and woodland setting. At first sight, I thought Edwardian country house - with its second floor dormer windows, hung tiles and white shutters to the downstairs picture windows. But closer inspection revealed a carved oak beam with a curious dip in the middle running along the front of the house – and once inside the panels and beams and huge inglenook fire places, with logs in the baskets dutifully roaring, then Elizabethan origins seemed likely.

In fact, the oldest parts of the house date back to the time of Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII. Rumour has it that it was built for a local woman of a good family who was ‘rusticated’ after an affair with the abbot of Bury. I like that sort of thing about a country house hotel – the whiff of scandal. It made me think what saucy tales the splendid old four-poster could tell in our room, the Oak Room.

We had been shown to the Oak Room (one of three in the oldest part of the house) by the affable and able owner, Craig Jarvis, who also owns the Black Lion in Long Melford. My Research Assistant likes to do the review inspection stuff straight away and pronounced the en-suite bath room “immaculately clean with nice white fluffy dressing gowns” and the room itself “a bit over-decorated in a heavy baroque style with rich, ornate hangings”, but thought the double glazing to the windows that were on the A14 side a good idea as it kept out the drone of the traffic.

I sensed we were in for something a bit special even as we entered the hotel - the entrance hall had a life-size statue of the naked Aphrodite, a stuffed crow in a cage and a croquette set. But I reserved judgment when the vivid red tartan and yellow carpet leapt up at us in reception. I was unsure too (a tad pretentious?) of the numerous family photos throughout the public areas – with the owner and his stunning wife and his two pretty daughters, and others with your man himself on various horses. In a previous magazine interview which was on display near reception he had been asked how he wanted to be remembered. Craig Jarvis does not lack self confidence as he responded: “creative, adventurous, entrepreneurial, committed, a good father who enjoys life, homely, relaxing, friendly” and I was beginning to think the Mandy Rice Davies classic “well, he would say that wouldn’t he” and then I saw that Craig had successfully completed the Grand National course at Aintree in the amateur riders Foxhunters Chase. Out of a field of 33, 16 had finished and Craig came in an exhilarated 14th. He has also taken part 15 times in the Newmarket Town Plate, a three and three quarter mile race which was initiated by Charles II in 1666. Riders on a hundredweight of animal muscle and sinew that leap over huge fences certainly have balls... However RA informed me she “liked the personal touches of the owners - and family photos settle you.”

I was perfectly settled after a couple of pints of Adnams Broadside and a chat with Simon, the local mole catcher who was endeavoring to deter the little buggers from ruining the croquet. Traps are the best way to get rid of them permanently, he says; it seemed in keeping with the hunting, shooting and fishing feel of the place (there’s a 29lb stuffed salmon above one of the inglenooks that Craig’s mother had caught). As well as vermin control Simon is a gamekeeper on a local shoot and is a real outdoor country man. He likes to take his wife out in the evening, lamping foxes – “it’s the only time I get to talk to her”, he explained.

Our evening meal was in the paneled restaurant, originally the main living hall. Our table was beside the inglenook. The room’s centre piece was a large table with an ornate candelabra, its numerous candles casting a mellifluous and mellow glow over a sizeable collection of different port and brandy bottles. One was somewhat disconcerting - it had a snake in it and the reptile’s rictus grin reminded me of our soon-to-be-erstwhile Prime Minister. Diners come from near and far as the chef David White, 16 years at Ravenwood, has a deserved reputation and Craig’s time in working in vineyards in France mean that both food and cellar are very good. The restaurant is a particular favourite of the Newmarket racing community.

Two Turkish waiters, silver fox-haired Sami who moonlights as a DJ and Bulent brought us complimentary canapés – goat cheese, crab cake and pate with red onion which had the desired whetting-of-the-proverbial effect. The six freshly shucked Irish oysters with a choice of Tabasco, lemon or shallot vinegar were £8.95, as was their own smoked-on-the-premises salmon with a parsley crème fraiche. A Gran Hacienda Chardonnay Santa Rita from Chile was good value at £14.95.

Main courses ranged in price from £15.75 for sweet potato pancakes layered with butternut squash, celeriac, tempura baby leeks and white onion sauce for vegetarians, to aged fillet of prime beef wrapped in Suffolk black bacon and served with wild mushrooms and café de Paris butter for carnivores at £26.95. RA declared her Guinea fowl “juicy” and the sauce to accompany the crispy pancetta, hazelnut and garlic tagliatelle “stunning, very light and balanced, just gorgeous, creamy and light.” I had the hunger of a bear and, if I may mix metaphors, wolfed down the medallions of venison loin with shallot tart tartan and parsnip puree blueberries and sloe gin. Rather more prosaically, my notebook records it as “very good”.

To follow, an excellent cheese selection and, fortunately, not too much of each (why do a lot of restaurants always give you so much? I really only want a taste at the end of a meal). Suffolk Gold, a very gamey Keens Cheddar, Mrs Temple’s Binham Blue which tasted like a mellow Stilton and a wonderfully tasting and named Stinking Bishop. This cheese is described as having ‘a pungent and spirited aroma’ and is based on the French Epoisses cheese which has the distinction of being banned on the Paris public transport system. To round off I thought I would try and wipe the smile off of the snake’s face. Downed in one, it certainly had a bite to it but then a cheesy smile came over me.

The same attentive service at breakfast and traditional quality offerings. A sergeant-major would have been proud of the perfectly rectangular soldiers arranged in serried rank alongside my perfectly soft boiled egg.

Ravenwood Hall is a great place to be rusticated. Forget the abbot – take your own abbess with you and ask for the Oak Room

BOTTOM LINE Oak Room double occupancy including full English breakfast, newspaper and VAT £195 per night. Two night breakaway double occupancy including two meals from chef’s special evening menu £443. Mews rooms double occupancy from £120.

SAMPLING THE FARE There is a separate lunch and dinner menu which varies daily according to seasonal fare. The menu is both adventurous and traditional, featuring long forgotten English recipes.

WHAT WE THINK The owner and staff at Ravenwood Hall have succeeded in combining being friendly and welcoming but at the same time running the hotel, bar and restaurant in a thoroughly professional way.

WORST THING The drone of the busy A14 as you walk in the grounds and the bedside lights are obscured by the heavy drapes to the four poster bed in the Oak Room so making it difficult to read in bed (assuming you want to …)

ACCESS ALL AREAS The seven rooms in the main house do not have wheelchair access. Five mews rooms are suitable, but not specially designed for disabled people on the ground floor in a building nearby.

ROOM 9 out of 10

FOOD 9 out of 10

SERVICE 9 out of 10

Ravenwood Hall, Rougham, Bury ST Edmunds, Suffolk, IP30 9JA; tel 01359-270345 fax 01359-270788; email enquiries@ravenwoodhall.co.uk

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