Need to get out of the office but still have work to do? What if we told you that you and your guests have the opportunity to experience a historic change of scene with serene views to enjoy?
These venues, rich in history and stunning architecture… Blend tradition with modern appeal, offering fresh perspectives for your next meeting or event.
Horwood House
Welcome your guests to a new setting outside the office! Featuring original architecture from the early 20th century, including beautiful Buckinghamshire countryside gardens designed by renowned Arts and Crafts architects.
A lily pond, walled garden, and woodlands are among the landscape beauties that characterise the grounds of Horwood House. Offering you and your guests a serene view for contemplating boardroom ideas and discussions. Interestingly, the UK’s first ‘celebrity’ TV gardener maintained these features throughout the 1950s and beyond!
Despite its recent impressive renovation, Horwood House remains dedicated to preserving its unique and original manor house feature. Ensure that your next meeting immerses participants in the traditional charm of British heritage. This dedication is evident in the interior design, which highlights delicate prints reflecting its botanical heritage.
On the topic of boardrooms, Horwood House offers flexible meeting spaces. You and up to 250 guests can enjoy accommodations, with layouts organized according to your needs, preferences, and vision. To assist in this, Horwood House provides six different room layouts, including boardroom, cabaret, and theatre. Stay well-connected, perfectly presented, and historically enlightened by choosing this venue.
Highfield Park
Where family heritage meets high hospitality expectations, you’ll find Highfield Park. Previously known as Heckfield… Highfield Park dates back to the 11th century, when William the Conqueror ordered a survey and valuation of England’s land. During this period, the Ports and their successors, including the aristocratic Cresswell family, held the manor and maintained control for almost two hundred years.
Rooted in significant events throughout British history and renowned for hosting major training events for large companies, this venue is as relevant as it is reputable for guaranteeing a memorable experience. Securing a spot in one of the 15 flexible meeting rooms, all set within this stunning 17th-century mansion house is all it takes!
Donnington Grove
Energising, relaxing, and inspiring—qualities expected from an extraordinary corporate retreat, all found at Donnington Grove! An irresistible estate with a rich historical legacy, this venue is one of the best places to hold a meeting in Newbury.
Rich in history and nature, Donnington Grove offers function rooms that are both intimate and ornate, designed to impress you and up to 50 delegates. These spaces feature original fireplaces and high, painted ceilings from 18th-century Britain.
The mansion’s charm can be attributed to its previous owners, including historian James Pettit Andrews. His friend, Horace Walpole, built the mansion in the Gothic style, inspired by his own gothic novels.
Although a forerunner to classics such as Dracula and Frankenstein, this venue is no horror show. Its 850-acre estate exudes elegance, elaborateness, and tranquillity, featuring picturesque landscapes thanks to the expansions made by its 18th-century owners: William Brummell, private secretary to the Prime Minister, and Beau Brummell, a Regency-era icon who revolutionised men’s fashion. Host your next meeting here and draw inspiration from Donnington Grove’s grandeur.
Hawarden Estate
At Hawarden Estate, there is a visitors’ book that is signed by every guest for over 100 years. The signatures of you and your delegates could be the next addition. After all, Queen Elizabeth II and the King have already signed it.
Indeed, experience a royal meeting at Hawarden Estate, which has welcomed an array of distinguished guests, including Oscar winners, high-profile politicians, and renowned creatives. Hawarden Estate believes that people are at the heart and soul of the estate… Encompassing those from the past as well as those in the present and future.
Among its notable guests was Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton CBE, a regular visitor who won two Oscars and four Tonys, and served as a photographer for Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret. In keeping with this royal tradition, William Gladstone, a four-time Prime Minister to Queen Victoria, also expressed his deep affection for Hawarden Estate.
And you can too! Now evolved to include a variety of exciting event spaces, Hawarden Estate offers a unique corporate retreat with 3,500 acres of lush green space, surrounded by scenic rural parkland that features its own private lake, garden, and miles of woodland. Where do you sign? You already know the answer…
Hensol Castle
From its early days, Hensol Castle has been altered, improved, and expanded to reflect the individual tastes and designs of the 15th century. Hosting a meeting here ensures that you, too, can make a lasting impression on the hopes, impressions, and expectations of your delegates.
Originally owned by Judge David Jenkins, the estate was passed on to his son-in-law, Lord Chancellor Charles Talbot. It was, indeed, the Talbot family who transformed the mansion into a castle, with impressive landscape development and layout design.
These landscapes were further expanded by subsequent owners of Hensol Castle, an MP, a Chief Commissioner, and a High Sheriff, all of whom contributed to the construction of its lake, walled garden, and summer house.
Despite its strong heritage as a family estate, Glamorgan County Council purchased the property in the early 20th century and used it as a county asylum for people with learning disabilities. Fortunately for you, the castle has since reopened as a centre that meets all your conference needs. Now an exclusive South Wales conference venue… Hensol Castle is ready to welcome you and up to 304 delegates with state-of-the-art multimedia conference and meeting facilities that you won’t want to miss.
The Parkgate Hotel
Park up and pick up your board pens at The Parkgate Hotel. Once the Head Post Office for Cardiff and the city’s old County Court… The Parkgate Hotel revitalized itself with modern renovations, transforming from dereliction into a 21st-century gem.
This is not to say there are no features preserved from the early 1900s. In fact, these elements are a key aspect of The Parkgate Hotel’s refurbishment, making it a unique venue that embodies the grandeur of late-Victorian and Edwardian civic architecture. Interestingly, The Parkgate Hotel, was constructed in the 19th century and completed as a commemoration of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. It quickly became a celebrated and adorned monument, recognised for its fine architecture.
The adjoining County Court, equally elaborate in architectural design, featured a grand entrance hall and intricate French Revival Style elements. Although both the County Court and the Head Post Office later restructured and relocated to different sites in Cardiff, officials designated each as Grade II listed buildings in the late 20th century.
This designation set a high standard for the unique redevelopment of these historic sites into a hotel. Set equally high standards for your next meeting, accommodating up to 360 guests, with their distinctive Postmaster Suite, located in the heart of Cardiff.
Hunton Park
Your search for the perfect historical meeting venue ends at Hunton Park, where, like a fairytale, there’s a happy ending. This is a story of two houses, originally named Hazelwood, spanning nearly 190 years of Hunton Park’s rich history…
Henry Botham was a wealthy man in search of a country home. He purchased 74 acres of land and built the original Hazelwood House. After his passing, the estate was inherited by Lord Rokeby, who, along with his daughter, made it their home. Over the years, Hazelwood House saw a succession of owners, who collectively rebuilt it into what became the second Hazelwood House.
Where this story ends, your conference journey begins at Hunton Park. A new chapter awaits you and your guests, with nine flexible event spaces and 22 acres of Italian landscaped gardens, accommodating between 2 and 700 attendees. It sounds almost magical—surely, it’s too good to be true…
To explore more historic conference venues, visit MakingHistory—a curated collection of castles, country estates, luxury hotels, and manor houses—perfect for hosting truly unique and memorable events. Click here to discover more.