About Us

The Old School House Restaurant started life around the turn of the century as a Weeford Village School, and was used until the late 1960s when a new school was built in the village. When the Dobson family acquired it in 1984 it was being run as a guesthouse, and they have been responsible for transforming it into the successful high-class establishment it is today, constantly refurbishing and improving the facilities to an exceptional standard, while retaining the building’s character.

"Weeford Church, St Mary, is a small neat Gothic edifice, which was rebuilt in 1802, when the east window was embellished with beautiful painted glass, bought from Orleans by Sir Robert Lawley, and representing Pilate on the judgement seat, washing his hands. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Bishop of Lichfield, and incumbency of the Rev Robert Cowpland, MA, who is also incumbent of Hints." [From History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire, William White, Sheffield, 1851].

Nigel Dobson, the current owner and managing director, started his career as Commis Chef at renowned restaurant The Black Bull Inn at Moulton, North Yorkshire. Moving to London, Nigel worked at the fashionable Quaglino's in Mayfair, among others, followed by stints in Europe (The Apollo Hotel in Amsterdam) and the United States (Georges V Hotel in New York) before moving back to the UK to become Head Chef at The Bear Hotel at Woodstock. He has been managing The Old School House Restaurant since 1989.

The restaurant sits on 11 acres of privately owned grounds, and is surrounded by open countryside, with only the quaint village church of Weeford in its immediate direct sightline. The grounds boast two fields that can be put to such diverse uses as corporate team-building exercises, or a helicopter-landing pad. There is also a brook (Black Brook), crossed by an idyllic wooden bridge, which offers stunning photographic opportunities.

The main building houses several delightful lounges leading onto a patio that overlooks Black Brook and Weeford meadows. There are a number of rooms available for private hire (for conferences and business meetings, civil wedding ceremonies, private functions, etc.), some of which reflect the building’s history, such as The Master’s Room, which used to be the original Headmaster’s study. The Wyatt Pavilion, a large, semi-permanent luxury marquee structure, was erected in 2004 and now houses the restaurant’s impressive entertainment programme, as well as being a perfect corporate and wedding venue with a capacity of 150+.