Ellingham Hall in Northumberland has been a leading venue for weddings for almost 15 years. If you want to see how well recommended it is, go onto Trip Advisor.
Okay a lot of folk take Trip Advisor with a pinch of salt but, read between the lines and you’ll soon realise how well regarded Ellingham Hall is. To say that it receives glowing praise is an understatement.
The only problem is that when it comes to weddings and major events, Ellingham is extremely busy and you may struggle to secure a booking. They’re already booked well into 2024!
However, we have news.
There is another premium wedding venue in Northumberland and it is of the same high standards for which Ellingham Hall is renowned. Why? Because the team behind Ellingham Hall are launching Lemmington Hall. Ellingham Hall is a Victorian mansion house, and it has now joined by its sister venue Lemmington Hall which is a restored Georgian mansion set in 14 acres of its own grounds. Lemmington Hall is the home of Ellingham Hall’s owners. Lemmington Hall started hosting events over 15 years ago, and whilst the team at Ellingham have staged various single events there, the decision was made around 2019 to develop Lemmington into a similar but smaller venue as Ellingham. ”When COVID-19 arrived, any opportunity to renovate the building and bring it up to the sort of standards our guests would expect, were put on hold. However, we’re up and running and work is almost complete,” said Group Director, Anthony Hunter.
And as you can see from the pictures…wow…it looks fabulous and, you have to say, very different to any other wedding venue you could compare it to.
”The central part of Lemmington Hall features a 15th Century pele tower,” adds Anthony. ”When we were looking through some old sketches of the last renovation done by Sir Stephen Aitchison around 1913-16 we came across a sketch of a tree that was growing out of a fireplace in the Hall. This was the spark to reimagine the Tower as an overgrown and abandoned ballroom, a magical setting, and a complete juxtaposition from the classic Georgian house. We call it the ‘Forgotten Tower’…the land that time forgot.”
It looks amazing. No surprise to find that Anthony is a busy guy…but he’s not stopping with the addition of Lemmington Hall to what is now part of a group because he’s also just received the keys for the Highlander pub in Ponteland. ”It needs a lot of work to bring it up to speed, but we will be updating the pub to make it into a place where guests will want to go for good food and good drinks…and good hospitality.”
Both Ellingham and Lemmington offer a similar two-day experience which goes above and beyond what most wedding venues offer. The vast majority are a case of arrive – wedding – one night – depart. At Ellingham and Lemmington the wedding party gets two nights, and those nights are exclusive. There won’t be any other guests. It means the couple and up to 56 friends and family will be able to stay for the night before the wedding at Ellingham, or up to 14 at Lemmington.
”To us, the night before the wedding is what makes our experience so special. The guests can relax and enjoy a full evening together, spending quality time with their loved ones in an entirely exclusive environment. Weddings are wonderful days but they can be fast paced with a lot going on and it means couples can’t always get to see everyone for as long as they’d like. However, on the night before the big day they can mingle with everyone, and then on what is the third day, the wedding party can enjoy a big breakfast get-together before everyone heads for home.
”Too many wedding venues want to rush what is such an important and memorable day for the couple and their friends and family. It’s one of the reasons why we as a venue continue to win awards, I’m delighted to say, on a very regular basis.”
The best idea for anyone interested in booking either Ellingham or Lemmington, is to pop in for a visit. Anthony or one of the wedding team will be delighted to give you a guided tour and take you through how the two night event will work. And of course, when you have such terrific venues as both Ellingham and Lemmington, they lend themselves to other events such as for corporate team building, conferences, exhibitions and networking meetings. Attendees can stay overnight within the hall or in a selection of cottages within Ellingham’s eight acre grounds.
In other words, Ellingham and Lemmington continue to offer the very best when it comes to hosting weddings and events.