• Talliston House
  • The Watchtower | Living & dining room Welsh tower taken over by Victorians
  • The Voodoo Kitchen | Kitchen extension 1950s maid’s kitchen in New Orleans
  • The Hall Of Mirrors | Hall & stairs Stone stairway of villa in Italian mountains
  • The Labyrinth | Front garden Gothic Revival rectory cottage and vegetable gardens
  • The Starhouse | Conservatory Futuristic Japanese teahouse and Shinto vivarium
  • The Fountain Courtyard | Back garden 1930s Irish courtyard beside ruined chapel
  • The Office | Box-room Late 1920s detective’s office in New York City
  • The Haunted Bedroom | Master bedroom Edwardian child’s forgotten bedchamber
  • The Room Of Dreams | Guest bedroom Guest room in Moorish Spain

Book Tickets Online

About

Once an ordinary house in an ordinary street, Talliston House & Gardens has been transformed into ‘Britain's Most Extraordinary Home’ (The Times). Each of the thirteen locations is set in a different moment in time and space, allowing guests to be transported to a magical world where time has no power...

PLEASE NOTE: Talliston is a private house & gardens and not open to the public. Pre-booking is essential for all visits.

THE HOUSE
At midday on 6th October 1990 John Tarrow stepped into a three-bedroomed, semi-detached, ex-council house in Essex and started a personal journey that grew into a twenty-five-year project: To take a the UK's most ordinary house and transform it into a wonderland of inspirational locations, each set in a different time and place.

Using traditional techniques and authentic items sourced from around the globe, John and his team have created something from nothing, or perhaps more accurately, something incredible from nothing special. It is Talliston’s outward normality that is its magic; it is truly somewhere extraordinary within the ordinary.

By walking from room to room, you find yourself leaving the present, and entering the past (and even at one point entering the future). So you can step from a Moorish bedchamber into a 1920s study, from a New Orleans kitchen into a Victorian tower – all just by opening the house’s many doors and seeing what lies behind them.

THE BOOK

And after the house came the book... The Stranger's Guide To Talliston is set, like the house, in Great Dunmow; the first fiction to ever have the town as its primary location. Equal parts His Dark MaterialsMiss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children and The Lion, Witch And The Wardrobe, the novel is a classic tale of adventure that introduces readers to an otherworld hiding in plain sight, cloaked in magic and steeped in imagined history. 

The story follows the adventures of thirteen-year-old Joe, whose world is shattered when he enters a deserted council house and becomes trapped within a labyrinth protecting the last magical places on earth. There, Joe discovers The Stranger’s Guide, a cryptic book charting this immense no-man’s land and his only map through its dark and dangerous puzzle of doors and rooms. Hunted by sinister foes, Joe is forced ever deeper into both the maze and the mystery of his missing parents. What lies at the labyrinth’s centre and will it reunite him with the family he so desperately needs?

"Talliston is an incredible example of what can be accomplished with the power of pure imagination. And I wanted the novel to capture what it’s like to step from the ordinary world into the extraordinary. I wish when I was thirteen I could have discovered Talliston and read this book – Because at its heart is the idea that built the entire house: that with inner belief, we can all achieve extraordinary things.”
John Tarrow Author and creative director at Talliston

Book Tickets

Guide Prices

Historic Houses Invitation To View tours
Last weekend of every month (mid-month in December)
£20.00 per person

Private Tours
Afternoon Teas: Weekdays Wednesday to Friday
Enchanted Evening Tours: Weekdays Wednesday and Thursday
Author & Creator John Tarrow Tours: Every Wednesday afternoon & evening
Faerie Tale Christmas: Annually December – mid-January
Halloween Tours: Annually last two weeks in October
For 2 Guests @ £39.99 per person
For 3-4 Guests @ £29.99 per person
For 5-6 Guests @ £24.99 per person

Luxury Bed & Breakfast
The Haunted Bedroom
The Room of Dreams
The Cabin
Weekends Friday to Monday with extended check-in dates at Hallowe’en & Christmas
Per night from £100+

Events

Saturday, 24th June 2023 - Saturday, 24th June 2023

Sunday, 25th June 2023 - Sunday, 25th June 2023

Saturday, 29th July 2023 - Saturday, 29th July 2023

Sunday, 30th July 2023 - Sunday, 30th July 2023

Saturday, 19th August 2023 - Saturday, 19th August 2023

Sunday, 20th August 2023 - Sunday, 20th August 2023

Saturday, 23rd September 2023 - Saturday, 23rd September 2023

Sunday, 24th September 2023 - Sunday, 24th September 2023

Saturday, 21st October 2023 - Saturday, 21st October 2023

Sunday, 22nd October 2023 - Sunday, 22nd October 2023

Saturday, 25th November 2023 - Saturday, 25th November 2023

Sunday, 26th November 2023 - Sunday, 26th November 2023

Saturday, 9th December 2023 - Saturday, 9th December 2023

Sunday, 10th December 2023 - Sunday, 10th December 2023

Your Invitation To View "Britain's Most Extraordinary Home" (The Times).Talliston House & Gardens Guided TourYour Invitation To View "Britain's Most Extraordinary Home" (The Times).
more info

Facilities

Booking & Payment Details

  • Credit cards accepted (no fee)

Catering

  • On-site catering
  • On-site light refreshments

Groups

  • Facilities for groups
  • Guided tours for groups

Meeting, Conference & Wedding Facilities

  • Free broadband internet in bedrooms
  • Mobile phone coverage
  • Sole use of venue

Parking

  • Free Parking

Property Facilities

  • Dogs not accepted (except guidedogs)
  • Gift shop
  • Guided tours for individuals
  • Guided tours mandatory
  • Onsite Catering
  • Smoking not allowed
  • WiFi or internet access

Target Markets

  • Accepts groups

TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor Traveller Rating:

5 of 5 stars
  • Travelers Choice 2022
  • Excellent
    43
  • Very Good
    1
  • Average
    0
  • Poor
    0
  • Terrible
    0

Recent Reviews:

    Map & Directions

    Road Directions

    Talliston is located 9 miles from Bishops Stortford, 4 miles from the M11 and 1 mile northwest from the A120. From the M11, take the A120 and turn off at the Great Dunmow exit (watch for Ancient Flitch Town brown tourist signs). Go over four small roundabouts and at the fifth, turn left into Dunmow. Almost straight away, you will see the Queen Victoria pub on your right. Opposite this is Green Lane, leading to Newton Green.  

    Public Transport Directions

    An hour from London Liverpool Street to Bishops Stortford, then 15 minutes by taxi. 7 miles from London Stansted and 35 miles from London City airport.

    Talliston House & Gardens

    Type:Sightseeing Attraction

    51 Newton Green, Great Dunmow, Essex, CM6 1DU

    TripAdvisor Traveller Rating

    TripAdvisor Traveller Rating - 44 reviews44 reviews
    Close window

    Call direct on:

    Tel07760171100

    Opening Times

    Open Christmas
    Open New Year

    * Talliston is a private house & gardens and open only to pre-booked visits.

    What's Nearby

    1. Designed by Harold Peto in 1902 for 'Daisy' Countess of Warwick. Abandoned in 1950,…

      2.06 miles away
    2. A nature-orientated Distillery with strong core values and provenance! We hold regular…

      2.82 miles away
    3. Hatter’s Farm is a family-run pumpkin farm nestled in the Essex countryside. Farmer Ross…

      3.76 miles away
    4. The remains of this imposing motte and bailey castle, built in the 12th century, dominate…

      5.47 miles away
    1. This magnificent building houses a permanent display of old photographs and objects…

      5.53 miles away
    2. Cammas Hall Farm is located in the beautiful Essex countryside and provides a memorable…

      5.53 miles away
    3. Great Lodge is a tranquil rural estate in North Essex with a magnificent Grade 1 listed…

      6.24 miles away
    4. Based at The Secret Sconery (truly as secret as it's name describes) we are not visible…

      6.27 miles away
    5. This small barn offers amazing experiences including the chance to blend your own teas…

      6.27 miles away
    6. Mountfitchet Castle Experience is a multi attraction incorporating Mountfitchet Castle &…

      6.8 miles away
    7. Great Notley Country Park covers some 100 acres of open space, which is managed for the…

      7.01 miles away
    8. Set in picturesque Finchingfield, the 15th century Guildhall is an historic venue with…

      7.75 miles away
    9. A small 18th century Post Mill having one pair of stones and tailpole winding and has…

      7.82 miles away
    10. One of the finest surviving medieval barns in south east England and representative of…

      7.97 miles away
    11. A unique record of the history of textile design. The Archive celebrates fabrics and…

      8.43 miles away
    12. This award winning museum is based in the converted Courtauld School and has displays…

      8.53 miles away
    13. A beautiful PYO flower field in the Essex countryside, with a small maze, a sunflower…

      9.63 miles away
    14. A beautiful town centre park leading into Tower Gardens and West Park, Admirals is one of…

      10.23 miles away
    15. A beautiful 9 acre landscaped garden created by Sir Frederick Gibberd with lawns, vistas,…

      10.41 miles away
    16. This 15th century building, with perpendicular architecture, is light, spacious and…

      10.84 miles away
    Previous Next

    Related

    Talliston Bed & Breakfast | The Haunted BedroomTalliston Bed & Breakfast, Great DunmowOur B&B accommodation offers guests one of three double rooms at ‘Britain's Most Extraordinary Home’ (The Times): Talliston House & Gardens.

    The Voodoo Kitchen | Kitchen extension 1950s maid’s kitchen in New OrleansAfternoon Tea at Talliston, Great DunmowPrivate & Exclusive Afternoon Teas The perfect way to spend a magical afternoon at Talliston House & Gardens, ‘Britain’s Most Extraordinary Home’ (The Times). Experience the indulgence of Victorian high tea with these exclusive afternoons for two to six guests.

    Don't Miss

    Don't Miss

    Don't Miss

    Don't Miss

    Don't Miss

    Don't Miss

    Don't Miss

    Don't Miss

    Don't Miss