Preston Court
Preston Court Estate, Preston, Canterbury, Kent CT3 1DH
- Up to 500 guests
- Great for weddings, corporate events, celebrations, team building, exclusive use
- 4.8 ★ · 228 Google reviews
About the venue
Family-run 600-acre eco-farm and exclusive-use wedding venue at Preston, near Canterbury. Couples can marry in a 17th-century Kentish Barn, at the 13th-century St Mildred's Church, on Juliana's Island or on a working Victorian carousel. Standard capacity is 120 by day and 180 in the evening, with ten bell tents on site.
At Preston Court, couples can marry on a Victorian carousel. The team takes out one carriage so the pair can stand among its 36 carved horses. The galloper was built in the 1880s by Allchin & Linnell, was once steam-driven, and is licensed for ceremonies. After dark its thousand-plus amber lights come on, and guests can ride it.
The estate, near Canterbury, has been a family home since Michael and Lorna bought it in 1980. Their daughter Anna grew up here, and the family has run it as a wedding venue since 2009. The family collect fairground art and steam engines. Their showman's engine, The Vanguard, spends the winter in the Kentish Barn. Lorna has been rewilding the 600-acre farm for over 25 years, and a few beaver families now live there.
There are four places to marry. The 17th-century Kentish Barn seats 120 and has a working dance-hall organ at each end. St Mildred's, a 13th-century parish church in the grounds, also takes about 120. Outdoor vows are said under a pagoda on Juliana's Island. It is named after Juliana de Leybourne, known as the "Infanta of Kent", who died here in 1367. Traces of her medieval home can still be seen in the lake.
The whole estate is booked exclusively, for 120 by day and 180 in the evening. Six accredited caterers handle the food, and Wilfie's wood-fired pizzas are cooked in a vintage horsebox. The bar sits in an old lambing barn with clam-shell sinks in the lavatories. Ten bell and emperor tents stand in a meadow close by, and dogs are welcome at weddings.
Family-run 600-acre eco-farm near Canterbury
Exclusive-use weddings since 2009
120 day guests, 180 in the evening
Licensed 1880s Victorian carousel
17th-century Kentish Barn with two fairground organs
St Mildred's 13th-century church on the estate
Juliana's Island ceremonies on the lake
Ten bell tents for glamping
How many it holds
- Guests
- Up to 500
- Listed for
- Weddings, Corporate Events, Celebrations, Team building, Exclusive use
On site
- Exclusive use
- Civil ceremony licence
- Outdoor ceremony space
- Historic barn
- Church on site
- Bar
- Glamping
- Lake
- Gardens
- Dog friendly
- Parking
Where it is
Preston Court Estate, Preston, Canterbury, Kent CT3 1DH