Wickham House has a variety of different spaces to cater for all your corporate offsite needs. From strategy meetings to team building days we have a suitable space for you.
We have a total of 5 unique spaces around the property for hire:
The Barn (board meetings, small conferences, private lunches/dinners up to 22, theatre style talks for up to 120, filming and photoshoots)
The Walled Garden/Pavilion (breakout sessions, lunches up to 36, relaxation, summer drinks parties and BBQs)
The Marquee Site (Marquee based events for up to 300 delegates)
The Family Fun Day Site (Green space for events for up to 1500)
The Barn
Built in 2014 and designed by a top London architect, the Barn, provides the ideal space for a party or a corporate off-site.
Its 100 sqm of ‘social’ floor space comprises mainly of one large room with a dining area, which seats up to 24, a sitting area around a big open log fire, a full-scale bar and standing area. The dining table can be extended comfortably to seat up to 36, but this takes out some of the ‘comfy’ seating area. A balconied mezzanine floor provides additional space should it be required. There are plenty of cloakroom facilities and there is a disabled lavatory allowing for wheelchair access.
The Barn has been equipped with an audio visual system and office presentation systems. It also sports a beautiful, old, upright Bechstein piano.
The Barn includes a well-equipped kitchen and full dinner service.
The Pavilion / Walled Garden
The Pavilion is built in the style of a Mediterranean villa, bisecting the wall that encloses the Walled Garden, with the swimming pool on one side and the astro tennis court on the other. The two long walls of the main room are each comprised of 6 folding doors, which fold back on each other to create a room open to both sides.
The terrace between the Pavilion and the tennis court can be entirely covered by a made-to-measure marquee, which has a beautiful blue and gold hand-printed Indian lining. This allows the dining capacity to expand from 12 to 36.
Originally a Victorian kitchen garden, the Walled Garden has been transformed into a place of beauty and tranquillity, and is a unique corporate offsite location.
On the front cover of the NGS Berkshire magazine for 2015 and featured in The English Garden magazine in August 2015, this stunning area provides a wonderful space for summer corporate parties or photoshoots.
Drinks Receptions
There is no more striking a setting for a drinks reception than this garden! With a capacity of 80 - 100 delegates, wander along the pebble paths and you will discover different “rooms”, planted with their own schemes and yet flowing harmoniously one into the next to make a beautiful whole.
As the path twists and turns you will come across smaller terraces and places to sit, pause and imbibe – and each of these can house a station for drinks and canapés working from a central catering hub in the Pavilion. This is a really special place and your guests will never stop talking about it.
The Marquee Site
This is a piece of land with beautiful views in every direction. To the south it slopes gently away, with views over the downs south of Inkpen. To the north one looks towards the main façade of the house. The western side is flanked by an avenue of mature oak trees, and at various points around the field there are four marvellous 300 year old cedars of Lebanon.
With this canvas, there is plenty of room to create your own story for this one day. Frame tent? Pole marquee? Billowy linings or the discipline of ‘tack-off’? Back to nature or uber formal?
Our Tent & Marquee partners recommend two principal locations for a large marquee or frame tent (see link). The map sets out these options and also displays our designated parking plot 100m away, catering for 250 cars. Golf buggies could be laid on for those for whom this distance might represent a problem or indeed if the weather decides to misbehave.
The Church
Having a church on-site offers a great degree of privacy for those with a certain public profile who wish to have services away from prying eyes. But it is not just any old church…
Wickham Church, correctly known as St Swithun’s Chapel, is a 12th Century church, but built onto a much older Saxon watch tower. The tower is reputedly the oldest Saxon tower in Berkshire and is almost completely original. It is one of the best examples of Saxon workmanship in the country and is referred to in many reference books.
Wickham Church is also famous for its papier maché elephants in the roof of the north aisle. These were purchased by the rector at the Paris exhibition in 1862. There were originally three, which he meant to display in the rectory (Wickham House) but unable to find anywhere suitable to put them, he had more made and placed them in the church, giving them names including Fortitude, Docility and Strength!
The church is a fully operational Anglican church. Although all church services are open to the public, this church is little used outside of Sunday services and is likely to be available for Christenings and Funerals on most days. It has its own private entrance from Wickham House, which is only a few yards from our front door, The chapel seats about 90 in the pews but with extra chairs at the back, one could easily seat 120. It is sited about 50m from both marquee sites and The Barn.
