The Abbaye Royale du Moncel can host seminars, conferences, congresses and team building days for 10 to 500 participants, and weddings and receptions for 100 to 500 guests, with only one event on site at a time. The abbey was founded in 1309 by Philip IV the Fair and stands in a walled 6-hectare park at Pontpoint, between the Halatte forest and the town of Pont-Sainte-Maxence in the Oise, about 40 minutes from Paris.
Seminars and company events
The abbey rents its halls for company seminars, conferences and professional congresses. The 6-hectare park gives room for sports and team building activities between sessions. The largest hall, the vaulted cellars, takes up to 500 people, and the other halls take 200 to 300, so a plenary and a lunch can be held in separate rooms. The venue lets the halls only; there is no service staff, and the organizer handles signage, equipment and set-up. A contact person is on call during the hire. The monument stays open to visitors during the day, but the halls you book are removed from the visitor route.
Weddings and receptions
Couples have exclusive use of the abbey for the day. The cocktail is served in the park or in the courtyard with its cloister. If the weather turns, a vaulted cellar can be added even at the last minute and takes a cocktail for up to 500. The Philippe le Bel hall, 420 m², takes the dinner and the dancing for up to 300 guests in one room, with space to dance without moving tables. Furniture is included: round tables for eight, chairs, and rectangular tables for the head table and buffets. A security guard stays at the gate through the night. On Saturdays the halls are available from noon to 6 am, and deliveries and decoration can be done the day before during opening hours. On some weekends a brunch can follow the next day for an extra fee.
Rooms and capacities
The official specifications give these maximums: vaulted cellars, 500; Salle Capitulaire, 200; Salle Philippe le Bel, 300; Salle des Charpentes, 300; Philippe le Bel and Charpentes together, 500. The cellars date from the 14th century and show about 500 m² of pillars and ribbed vaults. The Charpentes hall sits under the oak roof frame of the former dormitory. The Philippe le Bel hall, the cellars and the fireplace room can be heated for an extra fee; the other halls have no heating.
Accommodation
There are no bedrooms, and guests may not sleep in the halls, the park or the car parks. Organizers book hotels in the area.
Catering
The caterer must come from the abbey's list of approved caterers. All other suppliers, such as the DJ, band, florist and drinks, are your choice. The caterer takes away all waste and returns the hall tidied.
History and setting
Philip IV the Fair founded the abbey in 1309 for the Poor Clares, and the nuns moved in in 1337. The church and cloister burned in 1525; the current cloister dates from the late 16th or early 17th century. The nuns left after the Revolution, wine merchants used the buildings for over a century, and the bishopric of Beauvais ran a seminary and then a school there until 1982. The three wings have been listed as historic monuments since 1920. Since 1984 the Club du Vieux Manoir, a heritage association, has restored and run the site, and hire fees fund the restoration.
Getting there
By road, take the A1 to the Senlis exit, then follow Fleurines and Pont-Sainte-Maxence. Pont-Sainte-Maxence station is about 20 minutes' walk through the town. Parking is arranged for each event, inside or outside the walls depending on numbers and season.
