Hedsor House

About the venue

Georgian-style mansion of 1868 in 100 acres above the Thames, 40 minutes from London, hired exclusively for each event. It seats 150 for dinner or 250 for a party and sleeps 26 in the house, with dry hire from £6,450 plus VAT or three wedding packages.

The main gates at Hedsor House were widened for military tanks in the 1950s, and they still do not meet in the middle. From the 1950s until the mid-1960s the United States Air Force leased the house as a top-secret communications centre, later processing information from U2 aircraft during the Cold War. For the next 30 years it was the headquarters of International Computers Ltd. The computer that drew the National Lottery numbers sat in the courtyard for several years.

There has been a house here since the 1100s. The Boston family built the present Georgian-style mansion in 1868 and entertained Queen Victoria when the court was at Windsor. Their portraits of George III and Queen Charlotte still hang in the Royal Staircase Hall. Philip Shephard bought the estate and its 100 acres in 1932 for £12,000. Two years later he gave it to his son Philip and daughter-in-law Florence as a wedding present, and the fourth generation of the family runs it now.

Hedsor opened as an events venue and filming location in 2007. It played Nicole Kidman's home in The Golden Compass, and The Boat That Rocked, Brighton Rock and Downton Abbey have filmed here too. The house sits high above the Thames, about 40 minutes from London, and Heathrow is close by.

The Ballroom keeps its original panelling and cut-crystal chandeliers, and the Centre Hall rises to an Italianate dome. The house seats 150 for dinner and takes 250 for a party. On a wedding night 26 people can sleep in the house. The Hive, an octagonal three-bedroom cottage modelled on the estate's beehives, can be booked as well.

House on the site since the 1100s

Rebuilt in 1868, Shephard home since 1932

100 acres above the Thames

Exclusive use for every event

150 seated, 250 for parties

Rooms for 26 in the house

Dry hire from £6,450 + VAT

Filming location since 2007