Painshill

About the venue

Grade I listed 18th-century landscape garden at Cobham, created by Charles Hamilton between 1738 and 1773 and run by an independent charity. It covers 160 acres. Couples marry between May and September in the Gothic Temple, for up to 120, or the Crystal Grotto, for 16. Dry-hire marquee receptions in the Walled Garden take 150, and meeting rooms hold up to 70.

Charles Hamilton hired a hermit to live at Painshill and spend his days in silent prayer for the family. Legend has it he lasted three weeks before he was spotted drinking in the local pub. Hamilton made the garden between 1738 and 1773, inspired by landscape paintings and his Grand Tours, and debt forced him to sell it in the end. Today it is a Grade I listed landscape of 160 acres at Cobham in Surrey.

Paths wind past the Serpentine Lake, a Ruined Abbey, a Turkish Tent, the Temple of Bacchus and a Gothic Tower. In the Crystal Grotto, light falls through holes in the roof onto stalactites covered in crystals. The German designer Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell called it the finest of its type ever built. Its roof had fallen in by the late 1940s. The Painshill Park Trust, a charity formed in 1981, has since brought it back. A vineyard on the slopes produces Painshill's own sparkling white and rosé.

Weddings run between May and September. The Gothic Temple, high above the lake, is licensed for open-air ceremonies of up to 120, with a covered marquee for guests. The Crystal Grotto holds 16. Receptions go to the Walled Garden, which takes 150 on a dry-hire basis with a marquee hired separately. A golf buggy with a driver can take the couple and photographer round the grounds.

For meetings and parties, the Abercorn Room in the Visitor Hub seats 40 and has its own courtyard. The Cascade and Serpentine Rooms overlook the River Mole and seat 30 each, or 60 together. In-house catering covers everything up to private dining, and parking is free. Every booking helps the charity look after the landscape.

Grade I listed 18th-century landscape garden

160 acres at Cobham, Surrey

Created by Charles Hamilton, 1738 to 1773

Gothic Temple ceremonies for 120

Crystal Grotto ceremonies for 16

Walled Garden receptions for 150 (dry hire)

Meeting rooms for up to 70

Run by the Painshill Park Trust charity