St Paul's Walden Bury offers away days, conferences and retreats for up to 60 delegates in an 18th-century house, summer meetings for 100 in a restored barn, and weddings with marquee receptions of up to 800 guests. The venue is a Hertfordshire country house with a 50-acre Grade I listed garden, near Hitchin.
Seminars and company events
The conference offer covers five large rooms of the 18th and 19th centuries. The largest seats 50 people. Smaller groups can use the drawing rooms and the dining room, which works as a boardroom. The whole main house can be hired for up to 60 delegates, with tea and coffee, parking and wifi included in the offer.
In summer, a renovated 17th-century barn with exposed beams takes meetings of up to 100 people. Delegates have access to the Grade I listed gardens throughout the day, and parking is unlimited. Catering, audiovisual equipment, facilitators and wellness activities are not run by the house: external suppliers provide them, and the events team advises on bespoke planning.
Weddings and receptions
The house is licensed for civil ceremonies, which can take place in the house or in one of the temples in the garden. Inside the house the limit is 60 guests. It can be extended to 120 by seating additional guests outside the large French windows, under an awning. After the ceremony, drinks and canapés can be served in the Adam Hall, on the terrace or in the garden.
For the reception, the garden can host a marquee, with sole use of the grounds. Celebrations range from small to large, up to 800 guests. The couple arranges the marquee and the caterers, and the venue supplies a wedding organizer to support the work. The barn is an alternative for a ceremony or a reception, with 80 guests seated and 100 standing, and it can serve as the wet-weather fallback for a garden reception.
Rooms and capacities
The house offers five large rooms, the biggest seating 50, plus smaller drawing rooms and a dining room usable as a boardroom. The main house works for groups of up to 60. The barn holds 100 for a meeting, or 80 seated for a wedding meal. The garden hosts the marquee for up to 800.
Catering
There is no in-house catering. Organizers bring their own caterer for a wedding, and the conference offer relies on outside suppliers for food, equipment and activities. Tea and coffee are part of the meeting packages.
History and setting
The house dates from 1720, when the garden was also laid out. The Bowes Lyon family has lived here since then, and the house was the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. The 50-acre garden keeps its original 18th-century formal design: long vistas lead to temples and statues, with a lake and ponds. The house holds a notable collection of classical statues and temples in the grounds, and the family opens it to visitors on set days.
Getting there
St Paul's Walden Bury lies in the Hertfordshire countryside near Hitchin. Enquiries and visits are arranged by email through the venue's contact page, and parking on site is unlimited.
