by Cathy Martin
The story of Barnsley Resort is reminiscent of a Hollywood movie or smash Netflix series: charming cottages that seem straight out of a fairytale, the ruins of a stately 19th-century manor, a family squabble with a tragic ending.
But today, there’s little drama on deck for guests of the Georgia foothills resort, where days are filled with horseback riding, pickleball or a round on the Fazio-designed golf course — or simply lounging by one of Barnsley’s two resort-style pools.
Resort owners South Street Partners (other holdings include Kiawah Island Club and Palmetto Bluff) are bringing Barnsley to a new level of luxury, revamping the culinary program and introducing amenities like an 18-hole putting course and Beretta clay-shooting experience. One of the most notable enhancements is a $6.2 million remodel of Barnsley’s 39 quaint cottages by interior designer Charlotte Lucas, completed in late 2024.
Barnsley junior cottage living room
Barnsley one-bedroom suite living room
A BRIEF HISTORY OF BARNSLEY
Today, several staff members with longtime family ties to Barnsley serve as de facto historians, proudly recounting the property’s storied past. Like many great homes, the Italianate mansion formerly known as Woodlands started with a love story: Godfrey Barnsley left Liverpool, England, in 1824 and arrived in Savannah, Georgia, where he met and later married socialite Julia Scarborough. When Julia fell ill with consumption, Barnsley, a shipping magnate, acquired land in the north Georgia foothills where Julia could convalesce and the couple would raise the couple’s eight children.
Sadly, Julia died before the home was complete, but their youngest daughter, also named Julia, spent most of her life there and eventually inherited the estate. Tragedy struck twice after the turn of the century, when a tornado severely damaged the home and family dispute over money had fatal consequences. The property was converted to a cattle and poultry farm in the 1950s before falling into further disrepair, and in 1988, a Bavarian prince bought it and began restorations. The resort opened in 1999.
COTTAGE CHARM
In the resort’s picturesque cottages, encompassing 85 of Barnsley’s 140 rooms and suites, Lucas’ design is layered and traditional, creating a home-away-from-home feel that’s luxurious and cozy.
Plaids, florals and a vintage-inspired color palette evoke a timeless feel. Bold accents like a deep-hued woodland wallpaper, black-and-white bathroom tiles, and a medley of patterns and textures add dimension and a touch of playfulness. Around every corner: thoughtful details, from rattan sconces flanking a window seat to bar shelves backed with a nostalgic vine-striped wallpaper.
With wide-plank flooring, painted wainscoting and molding, clawfoot tubs, and wood-burning fireplaces, the cottages — ranging from studios to seven bedrooms — feel like they’ve been here for ages. Porches with rockers and lattice trim feel distinctly Southern, while a central courtyard sprinkled with firepits invites guests to linger, play lawn games or cozy up with a nightcap.
Jules cocktail lounge at Barnsley Resort
Green circle chicken at Jules
A ‘JULE’ OF A RESTAURANT
Restaurants and old houses are always an alluring combination, and Jules, Barnsley’s signature restaurant in a circa-1854 farmhouse, delivers with just the right mix of classic and modern interiors with a diverse menu by acclaimed Atlanta chef Shaun Doty. There’s an intimate cocktail lounge and a bright, window-lined dining room with an oversized stone fireplace. The restaurant buzzes as servers in preppy Brackish bow ties (in a signature Barnsley pattern) dart to and fro.
Doty’s menu blends Southern, Japanese and European techniques and ingredients, centered around the use of a Josper charcoal grill. Named for Godfrey Barnsley’s daughter Julia, Jules is both relaxed and refined, with signature dishes like Doty’s Music Paper Bread — a crispy flatbread topped with lettuces, chanterelles and aged Mimolette cheese — and his Heirloom Pork Schnitzel, which is breaded, pounded thin and topped with peanuts, parsley-and-onion salad, and cheese from the nearby Sweet Grass Dairy. Bulldogs — little chocolaty bonbons similar to buckeyes — are a sweet end note to the meal.
While Jules is the star, Barnsley’s other dining options, overseen by executive chef Marc Suennemann, don’t disappoint. Completed in late 2024, the Biergarten is an open-air pavilion with a stacked-stone fireplace, an L-shaped sycamore bar, and a menu of pretzels, brats and barbecue (don’t miss the smoked brisket reuben and the homemade apple streudel). And for breakfast, lunch or dinner overlooking the golf course, there’s Woodlands, where the seasonal menu leans Southern with dishes like pimento-cheese beignets, seared lump crab cakes and pecan pie.
ROOM TO ROAM
Take a morning or evening stroll around Barnsley’s 30 acres of gardens, which were inspired by American landscape designer Andrew Jackson Downing. The symmetrical parterre has boxwoods that are more than 150 years old and a massive, 170-year-old China fir that’s believed to be the oldest in the state. A short walk from the formal gardens, the meditation garden is a peaceful pocket surrounded by towering bamboo.
For more active pursuits, there are hiking and biking trails across Barnsley’s 3,000 acres and six new pickleball courts — or try your hand at archery and axe-throwing. Go horseback riding along wooded trails, trotting past the Osage orange trees that dot the property and the Godfrey family cemetery — you might even catch a glimpse of some of the resident deer. Kids will love petting the goats and miniature horses, too.
There’s a spa, an adults-only pool with private cabanas, and a new family-friendly, zero-entry pool with a lazy river. Another recent upgrade: The Beretta Shooting Grounds, with a five-stand for groups, two 15-station clays courses, a Helice field and seasonal UTV tours.
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For a storybook ending to your weekend getaway, find an open seat by the fire and enjoy a taste of Barnsley’s own single-barrel Woodford Reserve bourbon — infused with smoked pecans — while the kids make s’mores, and memories. SP
GETTING THERE: Barnsley Resort in Adairsville, Georgia, is about 60 miles northwest of Atlanta, or about a 5-hour drive from Charlotte. Bring the pup: Some suites and cottages at Barnsley are pet-friendly, with a 2-dog maximum and no weight restrictions.
Christmas at Barnsley brings family-friendly activities such as elf storytelling time, gingerbread house-making and breakfast with Santa, along with holiday dinners and cooking classes.
Photographs courtesy Barnsley Resort, by Heidi Harris (Holidays, Cottages and Jules), by Peter Frank Edwards (Horses), by Patrick O’Brien (Inn and Aerial)
