20 Cavendish Square in London's West End hosts conferences, workshops, seminars, board meetings and drinks receptions for 8 to 200 people. It offers 14 rooms on three floors, each with natural daylight. The venue is a Grade II listed Georgian townhouse just off Oxford Street and the London headquarters of the Royal College of Nursing.
Seminars and company events
Workshops and training days work well in the First Floor Suite, which gives one group exclusive use of the Agnes Hunt, Annie Altschul and Peggy Nuttall rooms for the day. A retractable wall joins Agnes Hunt and Annie Altschul into one room for up to 90 people in theatre rows or 100 standing. With the wall closed, each room takes up to 40 in theatre style or 27 to 36 in cabaret, which suits parallel breakout streams. Peggy Nuttall adds a third room for up to 30.
Conferences and plenaries use Cowdray Hall, the largest room, which seats 180 or holds 200 standing. It has a raised stage of about six metres, a 10,000-lumen projector and four repeater screens for delegates. Three PTZ cameras and vMix software support hybrid sessions without tying up the room technician. The connecting Council Room takes registration, catering or an exhibition next to the main session, or runs alone for 80 seated.
Every space has a 4K screen, wireless microphones, Yealink videoconferencing for Microsoft Teams or Zoom, and free Wi-Fi. An in-house AV team resets rooms during the day. Drinks receptions and dinners are also offered: Cowdray Hall and the Council Room combine for receptions of up to 180 guests, and smaller rooms hold 6 to 60.
Rooms and capacities
The large rooms are Cowdray Hall (180 seated), the Council Room (80 seated, 140 standing) and the First Floor Suite, which opens to seat 130. Mid-sized rooms include Rosalind Paget, which seats up to 60 and overlooks a quiet courtyard, and Edith Cavell, Marjorie Simpson and Peggy Nuttall for groups of around 35.
Small rooms start at the Betsi Cadwaladr, which holds eight. Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale take 10, Mona Grey 12, and Sarah Swift and Jean McFarlane 14. Sarah Swift, Jean McFarlane and Mona Grey are ground-floor boardrooms hired by the hour rather than the day. Larger rooms can be set as theatre, classroom, boardroom, U-shape, cabaret or standing reception.
Catering
Green & Fortune is the venue's catering partner. The London company is B Corp certified and builds seasonal menus from locally sourced ingredients. Options run from breakfasts, buffets and light lunches to canapés and plated dinners, prepared on site.
History and setting
The townhouse dates from 1733. Cowdray Hall has three stained glass windows by Dudley Forsyth, original oak doors and a high ceiling. The Council Room has wood panelling, carved pilasters and a glass-domed ceiling. The venue is not-for-profit, and profit from bookings goes to the Royal College of Nursing. Each room is named after a figure from nursing history.
Getting there
The venue is two minutes on foot from Oxford Circus and five minutes from Bond Street station.
