Manor in Owings approved as wedding venue

There wasn’t a “neigh” to be heard April 4 as the Calvert County Board of Appeals unanimously approved allowing a wedding venue to be located at the same farm as a horse rescue operation.

The new owner of Hampton Manor, a registered historic 14-acre property in Owings, was granted a special exception for rental facilities on farms for wedding events.

Hampton Manor, or Hampton Plantation, dates back to 1664. The property’s Manor House was built in 1825.

According to its website, Hampton Manor was once one of the largest tobacco plantations in Maryland.

Most recently, the parcel, which is located on North Flint Hill Road near the Northern High/Northern Middle schools’ shared campus on Chaneyville Road, has been the base of operations for Freedom Hill Horse Rescue.

Alex Postow, who told the planning commission he bought the property a year and a half ago, confirmed Freedom Hill will remain on the property.

“I love working with them,” Postow said.

A one-page summary of the logistics involved in Postow’s plan was submitted to the appeals board and its staff.

“Our goal is to offer outdoor and tented wedding ceremonies and receptions,” Postow said. “We will limited the events to 12 per year. The guest size will be two to 125. We will not be offering guest access to the house or bathrooms in the house.”

Guests who are holding a wedding at Hampton “will be required to rent a portable toilet toilet, a comfort station, for events with 100 to 125 guests.”

There will be two ceremony sites — one on the front steps of the house under the columns and portico, with seating located directly in front of the house, and another in the area between the house and horse fence. The open air reception/tented site will be within the riding area.

Postow said parking will be offered on both sides of the driveway. He told the appeals board there are about 95 parking spaces.

The applicant said the property is zoned agricultural and is not in farm preservation.

“We are not going to build,” Postow said of the site plan, adding that by obtaining the special exception there will be 12 more opportunities for consumers in Calvert to spend money on tents, caterers and photographers.

“These wedding are small,” Postow said, adding that most will occur on Saturdays, which is when the nearby schools hold no classes.

Still, appeals board member Bob Carpenter asked for assurances that school-age children who might be attending weekend events at the school or the Mary Harrison Center would not be in harms way with an event that traditionally includes serving alcohol.

“Allay my fears that we’re not leaving our kids at risk,” Carpenter said to Postow.

The applicant said anyone holding a wedding reception on the site and intends to have alcohol served will be required to hire a licensed bartender. Postow affirmed he has no plan to apply for a liquor license.

After board member Daniel O. Baker Jr. moved to grant the special exception request, Susan D. Hance Wells suggested two conditions be added — a guest limit of 125 and capping the number of weddings at 12 or less per year.