Kingston is a small village strung along the top of the Purbeck ridge, and Kingston Country Courtyard occupies the old farm buildings at the heart of it — two courtyards of Purbeck stone gathered around a barn that dates from the 16th century. The view is the thing people talk about first. From the gardens the ground falls away and there, across the valley, is Corfe Castle on its mound, with Poole Harbour glinting beyond it and, on a clear day, the Isle of Wight on the horizon. It is the sort of outlook photographers plan a whole timeline around.
The barn itself has been restored with a light hand. Old stone walls and a raft of beams overhead, strung with twinkle lights, are set against floor-to-ceiling windows that pull the countryside inside, and a mezzanine gives the room height and a gallery to look down from. It seats 130 for dinner on round tables, traditionally with a curved top table, and takes up to 175 in the evening. The Sawmill Restaurant sits alongside as the wet-weather understudy, and the whole site is licensed so you can marry indoors or out.
Outdoors you are spoilt for choice: a rose-covered pagoda, the lower courtyard terrace for arrival drinks, formal cottage gardens with rolling lawns for a drinks reception, and a lower forest of native trees around a pond where an intimate ceremony can be held with the castle in the distance. There are bedrooms across the courtyards sleeping up to 60, so most of the wedding party stays put, and the newlyweds get the honeymoon suite. The chefs are in-house, with a formal three-course menu, a luxury barbecue or a hog roast to choose between, canapés or an ice cream bike beforehand, and a fire pit, marshmallows and mulled cider to see out a winter night. Parking is free and the venue is yours exclusively.
Where the band plays
The barn is the room, and it is a good one to play. Stone and timber give a live, generous sound that flatters brass and vocals, and the height under the beams means a full band doesn’t feel crammed against the ceiling. Once dinner is cleared the tables come back and the floor opens up in the same space, which is far kinder than moving 130 people somewhere new at exactly the moment they have settled. A crowd of that size carries a five or six-piece comfortably, and the mezzanine gives the people who would rather watch than dance somewhere to do it.
How the evening runs
Evenings here are built around live music or a DJ in the barn, with the fire pit and the pop-up bar in the gardens giving people a reason to step outside between sets, and a sparkler send-off at the end. With so many guests sleeping on site the room stays full late, which is exactly what a band hopes for. The venue doesn’t publish a fixed music finish time, so it is worth confirming when you book — rural sites sometimes ask for amplified music to stop a little earlier than the bar does, and it is easily planned around once you know.
Bands available in Dorset and perfectly at home in a venue like this.
More live music in Dorset.
- Wedding Bands in Dorset
- Events Bands in Dorset
- Dorset Tribute Acts
- Dorset Wedding DJs
- Dorset Corporate Entertainment
Worth reading before you book: Sound Limiters Explained. More questions answered on our England & Wales FAQs.