Meols Hall hosts weddings, conferences, product launches and activity days in its Tithe Barn, which seats 120 guests, with marquees on the lawns for larger numbers. The estate lies on Botanic Road at Churchtown, in Southport, Merseyside, and covers about 100 acres of wooded private parkland. The house has passed through 27 generations of the same family.
Seminars and company events
Companies use the barn and the courtyard for conferences, product launches, staff incentives and team-building days. The parkland suits outdoor activities run on the estate, including clay pigeon shooting, archery, horse riding, quad biking, cycling and 4x4 driving, and walks in the woods between presentations. The Coach House works for a smaller seminar or for drinks before a dinner. A conference day can run from breakfast on arrival to lunch and afternoon tea, and the estate can be hired exclusively. Presentation equipment is not listed online, so confirm screens and projection when you enquire.
Weddings and receptions
The Tithe Barn hosts civil ceremonies, blessings and candlelit receptions. A full-day wedding takes up to 120 guests and a twilight wedding up to 100. For a church service, St Cuthbert's Parish Church stands across the road, a short walk from the barn. The courtyard and parkland serve for photographs. The wedding package covers catering, the bar, furniture, a master of ceremonies and entertainment during the wedding breakfast. Weddings run all year, including on weekdays and Sundays.
Rooms and capacities
The Tithe Barn is about 400 years old and was restored by local craftsmen with traditional methods, keeping its original features. It has a fitted kitchen, a bar, lighting and a sound system, and seats 120. The Coach House adjoins it on one side of the courtyard, with a long row of French windows opening onto the cobbles. The courtyard can be covered for exhibitions, launches and large private events. Marquees can be put up on the lawns when numbers go beyond the barn.
Accommodation
The estate does not list bedrooms for event guests. The team has negotiated preferential rates with hotels in Southport that it has inspected itself.
Catering
Wedding meals are prepared by Carringtons Catering, the caterer named by the venue, whose staff also serve the evening. For company days, local caterers provide breakfast, a lunch of homemade pies and puddings in the barn, and afternoon tea, simple or more elaborate as needed.
History and setting
The house traces its history to the reign of King John in the early 13th century and is presented as the oldest manor house in Southport. The Hesketh family of North Meols remained Catholic through the 17th century, and the Jesuit Edmund Campion hid in its priest hole on his last visit to Lancashire. During the First World War the house served as a hospital for wounded Belgian soldiers. The house as it stands today was designed and built by the present owner's grandfather, an amateur architect, with rooms planned to show the family's paintings. It opens to visitors from late August to late September.
Getting there
The estate sits next to the village of Churchtown, on the northeast side of Southport. The barn is easy to reach and has free parking with no limit on numbers. The events office answers from Monday to Saturday, 9 am to 4:30 pm.
