Herstmonceux Castle

About the venue

Moated brick castle of 1441 near Hailsham in East Sussex, once home to the Royal Greenwich Observatory and now Bader College. The Ballroom and Cloisters take 180 for weddings, conference rooms seat up to 180, and guests can stay at the college's Bader Hall.

Between 1948 and 1970 the Royal Greenwich Observatory worked from Herstmonceux, until light and air pollution from Eastbourne, Bexhill and Hastings drove its telescopes to La Palma in the Canary Islands. A working observatory still stands on the estate. The castle itself is much older. Sir Roger Fiennes, who had bought Hever Castle in 1423, received a licence to crenellate in 1441 and built one of the first major brick buildings in England.

By 1740 the castle was empty, and its interior was later demolished for building materials. Restoration began under Colonel Claude Lowther in 1912 and continued from 1932 under Sir Paul Latham, who added the high pitched roofs. In 1992 Dr Alfred Bader bought the castle and gave it to Queen's University in Canada. It is now Bader College, and students study inside the walls.

The estate covers 300 acres of formal gardens, woodland and parkland around the moat. Weddings and events use the Castle Ballroom for 180, the first-floor Bader Room for 100 and the Elizabethan Room for 30. A wisteria-hung Cloisters courtyard takes 180 for outdoor drinks. The couple can spend the night in a wedding suite inside the castle.

Bader Hall, a short walk away, offers guest rooms at 10% off for wedding parties and has a four-star campus rating from VisitEngland. Conferences use the same castle rooms, plus a boardroom for 20 and the Drummers Room for eight. The Nuthatch Kitchen serves food on site, and the Headless Drummer pub opens Friday to Sunday.

Licence to crenellate granted 1441

Royal Greenwich Observatory 1948-1970

Now Bader College, Queen's University

300 acres around the moat

Ballroom and Cloisters for 180

Wedding suite inside the castle

Guest rooms at Bader Hall

Conference rooms for up to 180