Blackwell Grange sits on the Cotswold fringe just outside Shipston-on-Stour, and the first thing that stops most couples in their tracks is the Thatch Barn. It was raised in 1543, and nearly five centuries later it still has its original oak beams, its great barn doors and thatch over the top, with an open fire at one end and lighting soft enough to make the whole space glow. It is licensed for civil ceremonies and seats up to 150, and there are not many rooms in England where you can make those particular promises under that particular roof.
Its counterpart is the Orchard Barn, the modern half of the story and no less good for it: airy and contemporary, with full-height ceilings, exposed beams, floor-to-ceiling windows and doors, a helical staircase and a handsome bar. Above it sits the Snug, a mezzanine of sofas and armchairs looking down over the party — the ideal perch for grandparents, and for anyone who needs 20 minutes off their feet without missing anything. The floor throughout is grey sandstone with underfloor heating beneath it, so the barn is warm in February and the dancefloor is effectively the whole room rather than a taped-off square in the middle of it.
Food is taken seriously here, with seasonal menus built around what you actually like to eat, a chef’s table for the curious, and evening feeding that can run from live cooking stations to a firepit barbecue or pizza from the wood-fired oven in the walled herb garden. Accommodation on site sleeps up to 24 across seven en-suite bedrooms, there are 43 parking spaces and cars can be left overnight so long as they are collected by 10am, and the grounds are set up for lawn games while the drinks go round. Fireworks, sparklers and lanterns are out, for the sake of the livestock, but candles are welcome in both barns.
Where the band plays
The Orchard Barn is the evening room, and it takes up to 200. There is proper space for a band alongside the dancing, a sound system is fitted through the reception space with a microphone tied into it for the speeches, and the sandstone floor does an honest job underfoot. With the Snug overhead and the bar in the same room, the party stays gathered instead of scattering into corners, which is the single thing that makes an evening feel full rather than merely busy.
How the evening runs
The timings here are clear, and knowing them early makes the day better rather than tighter. Music finishes at 11pm, the bar takes last orders at 10.45pm and the barn closes at 11.30pm, so the trick is simply to start the dancing promptly — speeches wrapped up, cake cut, first dance at a sensible hour and a band that gets two proper sets rather than one rushed one. There is one other thing to plan around: only unamplified music is permitted outdoors between noon and 7pm, which makes an acoustic duo perfect for the drinks reception on the lawn and keeps the full band, quite rightly, indoors.
Bands available in Warwickshire and perfectly at home in a venue like this.
More live music in Warwickshire.
- Warwickshire Wedding Bands
- Warwickshire Events Bands
- Tribute Acts in Warwickshire
- Wedding DJs in Warwickshire
- Corporate Entertainment in Warwickshire
Worth reading before you book: Sound Limiters Explained. More questions answered on our England & Wales FAQs.