Avington Park

About the venue

A family-owned estate of 300 acres in the Itchen Valley near Winchester, where Charles II once lived with Nell Gwynn. Weddings for up to 180 use the Orangery and Library, with ceremonies in the rose garden or by the river. Lakeside Otters Barn hosts smaller weddings, Christmas parties and company days.

Charles II lived at Avington for ten years with Nell Gwynn and their children. He was building a palace in Winchester at the time, and the Dean would not have the King's mistress in the city.

The house had been given to the Chandos Barons in 1664. They brought in the Baroque painter Antonio Verrio to copy the ceiling he had painted in the state bedroom at Versailles. The copy is in the Ballroom, and the family says it has survived in excellent condition.

Avington's history goes back much further. An estate called Afintun was recorded here in 961 AD. In 2025 the Roach family, who own it now, found a medieval stone window below the first-floor landing during plumbing work. It showed that parts of the house have stood for more than 1,000 years.

The estate covers 300 acres of the Itchen Valley, a short drive from Winchester. Guests come in through Grade I listed gates and up a tree-lined drive.

Weddings take place in the Orangery, which seats 180, and in the oak-panelled Library. Outdoors, couples can marry in the rose garden or beside the River Itchen. A wooden motorboat can bring the couple to the riverside ceremony.

A short way off, Avington Lakes has Otters Barn, a rustic lakeside barn with bi-folding doors, plus a trout fishery café and waterside cabins. Guests can stay across the estate in apartments, cottages, cabins and shepherd's huts. There are also rooms at The Chestnut Horse, the estate pub in Easton.

The estate keeps one sad story from 1713. George Brydges drowned in the lake that year while trying to rescue his pet dog.

300-acre estate in the Itchen Valley near Winchester

Home to Charles II and Nell Gwynn for ten years

Verrio ceiling copied from the Palace of Versailles

Orangery weddings for up to 180 guests

Ceremonies in the Library, rose garden or by the river

17 bedrooms for the wedding party, more across the estate

Otters Barn at Avington Lakes for up to 100

Day delegate package from £110 per person