Northwood House

About the venue

Grade II* listed Georgian manor in Northwood Park, Cowes, given to the town by the Ward family in 1929 and now run by a charitable trust. Six function rooms include a Ballroom licensed for ceremonies of 140 with views to the Solent. Exclusive hire seats 240 conference-style or 170 to 200 for dining and dancing.

Princess Beatrice, Queen Victoria's youngest daughter, accepted the deeds to Northwood House from Captain Herbert Ward in 1929. She handed them to the chairman of Cowes Urban District Council, and the house and park became the town's. Five generations of Wards lived there after George Ward, a London merchant, bought the Bellevue estate in 1793 and renamed it.

His son George Henry Ward rebuilt and remodelled the house, using drawings from John Nash's office, with grounds laid out to a design by James Pennethorne. Queen Victoria's children came over from Osborne House for the Wards' parties. Later the house sheltered Benedictine nuns exiled from France and served as a Red Cross hospital. A charitable trust now runs it, and event profits go back into the house and park.

The trust's 2017 conservation award was for saving the domed ceiling over the House Bar. Nobody knew it was close to collapse until a cleaner asked whether someone could stick the fallen plasterwork back up. The bar now stocks a large collection of artisan gins under a chandelier. Guests arrive through the domed Rotunda, which seats 50 and was restored with Coastal Revival Fund money.

The Ballroom seats 120 for dining and holds 140 for a ceremony, with a bow window, a dais and French doors onto private lawns. A roll-up shutter joins it to the Dining Room, which keeps its original 1840s decor. The Drawing Room ceiling is one of the reasons for the Grade II* listing. The octagonal Library takes 40 for a ceremony and the Morning Room takes 10. Taking every room gives 240 seated conference-style or more than 400 standing. The Red Jet terminal is a five-minute walk away, and the two car parks hold 185 cars.

Grade II* listed Georgian manor in Cowes

Given to the town in 1929

Run by a charitable trust

Ceremony licences for 10 to 140 guests

Ballroom seats 120 with Solent views

Exclusive hire: 240 seated, 400+ standing

Own frame marquee for 150

Five minutes' walk from the Red Jet