Whitstable Castle hosts weddings, birthday parties, anniversaries, celebrations of life, film and photo shoots, children's parties and community events, through exclusive hire of the castle or bookings of its Studio and gardens. The castle stands in Tankerton, on the Kent coast at Whitstable, and is run by the Whitstable Castle Trust.
Weddings and receptions
Kent County Council approved a license for civil weddings and ceremonies at the castle in 2005. Weddings and other major occasions are arranged through exclusive hire, handled by the castle's events team. The gardens serve as the backdrop for wedding photographs, with formal lawns, walkways and curving planted beds. Celebrations of life use the indoor rooms, and birthday or anniversary parties can include customized catering and entertainment. The castle does not publish guest numbers online, so the events team confirms capacity for each format.
Rooms and capacities
Three hire options are listed. Exclusive hire covers the venue for major life events. The Studio is a weather-proof indoor space used for children's parties, workshops and regular class hire, and bouncy castles are not allowed there. The gardens are booked for wellbeing activities, community events and seasonal fairs. The building also houses the Wynn Ellis Tearoom, which welcomes dogs, a bistro and an orangery used by visitors. No capacities are given for any of these spaces.
Catering
The tearooms open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on weekends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Breakfast runs from 10 to 11:45 a.m. and lunch from noon to 3 p.m. Afternoon teas with homemade cakes, scones and savouries need booking in advance. For parties, catering can be adapted to the event.
History and setting
In 1788 Elizabeth Radford, who had inherited the land from an uncle, married the London businessman Charles Pearson. In 1790 the couple built Tankerton Tower, a Gothic octagonal tower that forms the start of the present building. After Pearson's death in 1828, his son sold the tower and lands to Wynn Ellis, who extended the house from 1836, decorated it in Victorian style and became Lord of the Manor of what was then Tankerton Manor House. The Mallendain family bought the estate in 1920 and held a well-known annual garden party there. In 1935 they sold it to Whitstable Urban District Council, which used it as offices. During the Second World War it served as a Civil Defence base, local groups used it from 1975, and the Whitstable Castle Trust has managed the estate since 2010. The gardens have been restored to recall the grounds Wynn Ellis is thought to have laid out in the 1840s, with Regency-style beds of shrubs, perennials and bulbs, accessible paths, plenty of seating and a children's play area with a pirate ship.
Getting there
The castle sits in Tankerton, on the eastern side of Whitstable, close to the seafront. Whitstable railway station is the nearest station.
