Delapre Abbey has 900 years of history and wears them lightly. It began around 1145 as a Cluniac nunnery founded by Simon de Senlis, one of only two in the whole of England, and the things that happened here are the sort you learned about at school. Eleanor of Castile’s funeral cortege rested at the abbey in December 1290, and Edward I raised one of his twelve Eleanor Crosses close by. In July 1460 the Battle of Northampton was fought on this ground, and Henry VI spent the night at the abbey afterwards as a prisoner while the nuns tended the wounded.
The Tates held it from 1550 and the Bouveries from 1756, rebuilding and refacing across three centuries, so what you see today is a Grade II* listed house of four ranges set around an almost square courtyard, part medieval bones and part elegant neo-classical skin. After a £6.3 million restoration backed by the Heritage Lottery Fund it opened to the public in 2018 for the first time in 900 years, and it has been one of Northampton’s best days out ever since.
For a wedding, the appeal is having all of that a mile from the town centre with 550 acres of parkland around it. There are 8 acres of formal gardens, a Victorian rock garden, a ha-ha, a lake and sculpture set about the grounds, and a walled garden believed to lie over the nuns’ burial ground, now full of topiary and kitchen planting, which hosts humanist ceremonies for up to 100 and has a thatched larder for something more intimate. The Library, Salon, Drawing Room and Dining Room all take ceremonies and receptions, the catering is done by an award-winning team in house, and the abbey deliberately limits itself to around 25 weddings a year, which is why it never feels like a production line. A wedding cottage on site sleeps up to 6.
Where the band plays
Indoors the abbey holds around 100, and the Great Hall is the natural home for dancing — handsome, high and full of character, though like most listed interiors it rewards a band that turns up with a sensibly sized rig rather than a festival PA. Live music and a dance floor are both very welcome. If your numbers are larger, the South Lawn takes a marquee for up to 500 with rolling parkland behind it, and a marquee is the easier room for a big band: no listed plasterwork to worry about, straightforward access, and room to build a proper stage.
The shape of the evening
Receptions here finish at midnight, which makes for a satisfying run: dinner in the abbey, the first dance as the light goes off the parkland, and a band playing through the last stretch while everyone is still in the room. It is worth confirming that finish and any earlier limit on amplified music when you book, then passing both to your band so they can plan their sets properly. Parking is on site and there is all-day access for decorating, so musicians can load in and sound-check without competing with the florist for the doorway.
Bands available in Northamptonshire and perfectly at home in a venue like this.
More live music in Northamptonshire.
- Northamptonshire Wedding Bands
- Northamptonshire Events Bands
- Tribute Acts in Northamptonshire
- Wedding DJs in Northamptonshire
- Corporate Entertainment in Northamptonshire
Worth reading before you book: Sound Limiters Explained. More questions answered on our England & Wales FAQs.