Background
Owlpen in its picturesque Costwold valley provides the perfect estate for exclusive corporate events and group activities, with the flexibility to provide just the right atmosphere – from the elegance of stately historic interiors to the rough-and-tumble of its woods and hills. There is a conference facility, marquee sites for trade fairs, and ample accommodation in its period cottages.
Past Clients
Kraft Foods, Bristol & West, LandRover UK, the CLA and B&Q are among the many major companies which have used the Owlpen Manor Estate for a variety of high-profile corporate events.
Private Estate
The Owlpen Manor Estate has proved a flexible and private setting for many professional uses. Events catered for include residential and brainstorming retreats; academic and cultural exchanges; discussion of research findings; board of director meetings; corporate presentations and lectures; focussed symposia; strategic planning meetings; corporate hospitality days; and team building activities. There are also a number of locations on the estate for marquees and trade fairs.
Spaces available
Meetings for up to 16 can take place in the Great Hall of the Manor House itself and break-out sessions can be held either in the adjoining room or in the 16th-century gardens. The nine cottages vary in size and style. Up to 40 delegates can be accommodated in the cottages, and a couple are ideal for smaller meetings. Small groups can hold brainstorming sessions within the dining rooms before sitting down to a meal with ingredients from the estate’s livestock and produce. Up to 40 can eat in the 15th-century Cyder Barn, and 120 can dine in the Pole Barn next door.
We can also work with you to create bespoke corporate client entertainment events and away weekends. For example, why not kick off the weekend with a full English breakfast followed by a morning’s shooting class and pub lunch; next host an afternoon’s whisky tasting or wine matching class; followed by a four-course meal with matched wines in our Restaurant? Round off your stay with a hearty countryside walk and home-cooked Sunday roast.
Pole Barn
This large purpose-built entertainment space can seat 120 people for fine dining experiences, and up to 150 people for performances, workshops, presentations, lectures and displays. The space is made from larch trees which were felled in the Owlpen valley, and machined carefully to create a stunning structure of beams and trusses that captivate any visitor. It sits directly next to the Cyder Barn, below, to create a complex and versatile entertainment space which is perfect for both business and pleasure.
Cyder Barn
The medieval Cyder Barn forms a versatile facility for smaller meetings and receptions – seating up to 20 boardroom style and 35 theatre style. Built in 1450 and decorated with Mander family portraits and furniture from the Arts and Crafts collections, it is an atmospheric setting for larger or more informal meetings, receptions, presentations and corporate hospitality days. With fully-equipped catering kitchens, we arrange everything from a buffet to a stylish dinner, alone or following a reception or meeting in the manor house. The space connects to the pole barn next door, and upstairs there is a cosy break-out room and studio apartment for quiet contemplation and VIP guests.
Great Hall
The Great Hall in the historic Tudor manor house is ideal for senior management meetings and director-level receptions, and provides an intimate training and seminar environment for up to 12 people in an intimate and atmospheric setting.
Smaller casual meetings can be held in appropriate cottages on the estate. Frequently, the Grist Mill, a historic listed Georgian watermill centrally located close to the barn complex , is chosen.
Elegant Woodwells, a Victorian farmhouse, is also suitable for meetings.
Owlpen Estate
The estate provides a dramatic backdrop for corporate days out and team-building activities. For activity days there are many miles of challenging tracks through the woods. We have ideal sites for clay pigeon shooting, marquees and trade fairs, barbecues and go-kart racing, paintballing and treasure hunts. A variety of activies can be arranged by specialist providers, including archery and hot air ballooing. Within a couple of miles there is golf (three different courses), gliding and horse riding.
Accommodation
The estate’s historic cottages can be rented on an exclusive basis to accommodate up to 40 people sharing rooms, or 2q people on a single occupancy basis. For residential meetings and groups, Owlpen provides a quiet but accessible setting, with plenty of rooms for break-out sessions, and a variety of back up services.
Rates and contact
For more detailed information and to discuss your training and conference requirements, please contact the Estate Office on hello@owlpen.com and 01453 860261.