Ushaw hires out its conference rooms, function rooms and Victorian theatre for meetings, seminars and private dinners, for between 1 and 256 people depending on the rooms booked. The venue is a historic house with chapels and gardens in the village of Ushaw Moor, four miles from the center of Durham in North East England. It was a Catholic seminary until recent decades and now runs as an arts and heritage charity.
Seminars and company events
The official site gives conferences and meetings their own section: conference and presentation facilities for up to 256 people, with residential, full-day and half-day packages. A day booking can also include a visit to the house, chapels and gardens, which the venue offers as a complement to the meeting. Ushaw is open to the public every day from 10am to 4pm, so an organizer should expect other visitors on the estate and ask the team how the hire is arranged around them.
Weddings and receptions
The site does not list weddings. It does present the function rooms for special occasions: private dinners, birthdays and parties. They sit on the ground floor of the main house, among the Pugin interiors. Ask the team directly if a ceremony or wedding breakfast is the aim.
Rooms and capacities
Total capacity runs from 1 to 256 guests, depending on the rooms required. Two rooms have a stated figure. The Parlour suits a formal dinner for up to 40 guests. The Refectory takes a larger party of up to 160 guests. The conference and presentation facilities hold up to 256. The site also names a Victorian theatre and large outdoor spaces, without giving figures or layouts. Room sizes, seating plans and equipment are not published, so request them with the enquiry.
Accommodation
Ushaw runs a bed and breakfast on the estate. The en-suite bedrooms come as Super King, double, twin and single, with free parking, free wireless internet, tea and coffee in the room and a complimentary cold breakfast buffet from 8:00 to 9:30. The Francis Thompson Lounge and Bar opens from 5:00 to 10:00pm for drinks and light snacks. The number of bedrooms is not stated on the page, so ask whether a residential group of your size fits. There is no restaurant on site; guests receive a discount at the New Board Inn, a pub and restaurant nearby.
Catering
The venue offers catering from light refreshments to three-course meals, adapted to the event. The Ushaw Cafe is a public cafe open daily from 10am to 3:30pm.
History and setting
The first stone of St Cuthbert's College was laid in 1804 and the college was open by 1808, founded by priests returning from exile in Douai after the French Revolution. The estate grew to about 500 acres with a farm, library, museum, gardens and a lake. Much of the design and craftsmanship comes from Augustus Pugin, his sons and his grandsons, in the Gothic Revival style. St Cuthbert's Chapel is still a working chapel. The library is described by the site as world renowned, and the main house holds exhibitions, rare books and Pugin stained glass.
Getting there
The address is Woodland Road, Ushaw Moor, Durham DH7 7DW. Postcodes can mislead satellite navigation on such a large estate, so the venue recommends the What3Words address hopefully.help.develop. From the north, leave the A1(M) at junction 63 and follow the A167 south toward Durham. From the south, leave at junction 59 and follow the A167 north. The venue holds the Good Journey Mark for car-free visitors. Bookings go through the enquiry form or the email on the venue hire page.
