Holme Pierrepont Hall is one of the oldest buildings you could plausibly get married in, and one of the most surprising, given that it is barely 10 minutes from the centre of Nottingham. Sir William Pierrepont built it around 1490 to 1500, and it is one of very few brick houses of that date anywhere in Nottinghamshire; the family had been on the land since about 1280. It is Grade I listed, and its later life reads like a compressed history of the English country house — a north range rebuilt in 1628 and pulled down again around 1730, a north wing rebuilt in the 1870s, and a 1975 restoration that stripped away the Victorian stucco to reveal the original Tudor brickwork underneath.
It is still very much a home. The Brackenbury family, descendants of the Pierreponts, live here and run the weddings themselves, which is why the place has an unfussy, welcoming feel that surprises people who arrive expecting stately-home formality. The hall sits in about 30 acres of parkland next to the little church of St Edmund, and the courtyard garden at its heart — Grade II listed in its own right, laid out in immaculate low box hedging — is the picture everybody takes away. The East Garden gives you a second outdoor space for a summer drinks reception.
Four rooms are licensed for ceremonies and each has a different mood. The Long Gallery is the largest, hung with family portraits and opening straight onto the courtyard garden, and seats up to 120. The Ball Room is lighter and prettier at up to 50, with French doors out to the East Garden. The Medieval Lodgings, in the oldest part of the house, take up to 40 and are wonderfully atmospheric. Only one event is ever held at a time, catering is handled by the hall’s own in-house team, and there are a handful of bedrooms plus an estate cottage for the night itself.
Where the band plays
The Long Gallery carries the evening, seating 120 and holding around 150 for the party, with a marquee in the grounds as the option for anything larger. A gallery is a particular sort of room for live music — long, high and full of soft furnishings and portraits — and it suits a band that can play with warmth rather than sheer volume: soul, swing, a Motown set, an acoustic-led group that can lift into something louder after the first dance. Bands and DJs are welcome, and the hall asks for public liability insurance to £10 million and PAT certificates four weeks before the day, so pass that on to whoever you book as soon as the contract is signed.
Getting in, and how late it runs
Load-in is easier than a Grade I listed manor house has any right to be, thanks to free parking directly in front of the house and more outside St Edmund’s Church, with overnight parking available so nobody has to shift a van at midnight. The standard terms allow the bar to run until midnight, with extensions available for a fee, which means a band can comfortably play two sets across the evening and still leave time for a proper last song. As ever in a house this old, have a quick conversation about power and where speakers can safely stand before the day arrives.
Bands available in Nottinghamshire and perfectly at home in a venue like this.
More live music in Nottinghamshire.
- Nottinghamshire Wedding Bands
- Nottinghamshire Events Bands
- Tribute Acts in Nottinghamshire
- Wedding DJs in Nottinghamshire
- Corporate Entertainment in Nottinghamshire
Worth reading before you book: Sound Limiters Explained. More questions answered on our England & Wales FAQs.