Eastnor Castle hosts meetings, conferences, presentations, product launches, training days, corporate dinners and weddings for up to 150 guests. The castle stands near Ledbury in Herefordshire, at the foot of the Malvern Hills, and is let on an exclusive-hire basis, so the house and its grounds are reserved for one group.
Seminars and company events
Four state rooms take business events. The Great Hall seats up to 150 theater-style, the Gothic Drawing Room and the State Dining Room take around 80, and the Octagon Room suits smaller meetings and boardroom sessions. A data projector, screen, flipcharts and PA equipment are provided on request, and the meeting rooms have Wi-Fi and plenty of power sockets. The hilly terrain of the 5,000-acre estate, inside the Malvern Hills National Landscape, lends itself to team-building and activity days. A corporate team plans each event, and small groups can combine a day of meetings with dinner and an overnight stay in the castle.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings are exclusive from 11 am, and parties end by midnight. Civil ceremonies take place in the Great Hall for up to 150 guests, or in the Gothic Drawing Room or Octagon Room for up to 80. St John the Baptist Church in Eastnor village, a short walk away, also seats 150, and outdoor blessings can be held on the Lower Terrace. Drinks are served on the Terrace, the wedding breakfast is held in the Dining Room for 80 or the Great Hall for 150, and the Octagon Room is used for dancing. Above 150 guests, or with a band of five or more, a dance marquee is put up on the Upper Terrace.
Rooms and capacities
The Great Hall measures about 16 by 8 meters and takes 150 theater-style or 150 on round tables, 130 with a long top table. The State Dining Room, about 11 by 7 meters, seats 22 around its central table or 80 on rounds. The Gothic Drawing Room, of similar size, and the Octagon Room, about 9 by 9 meters, complete the set. The castle's figures for these two rooms vary between pages, so confirm them for your layout.
Accommodation
The castle has 12 bedrooms, 11 doubles and one single, sleeping 23 guests, with seven z-beds for children on request. Three holiday cottages on the estate, rated four stars by VisitEngland, sleep 28 more, and partner hotels nearby take larger groups.
Catering
Meals are prepared by three approved caterers, from multi-course dinners to sharing feasts and bespoke menus, with fresh local produce. Outside caterers are not allowed. Wine and champagne come from the castle cellar.
History and setting
The 2nd Baron Somers, later 1st Earl Somers, commissioned the castle, built from 1812 to 1824 to designs by Robert Smirke, architect of the British Museum, in a Norman Revival style. In 1849 A.W.N. Pugin redecorated the Drawing Room in Gothic Revival style. The castle is the home of the Hervey-Bathurst family, who restored it from 1949. It appeared as the Roy family's English home in the first season of HBO's Succession.
Getting there
The castle is about ten minutes from the M50. Ledbury station is 2 miles away, with trains to London Paddington in about 2 hours 45 minutes. Great Malvern station is 8 miles away and Gloucester 19 miles. Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff are about an hour by car, central London about two and a half hours.
