You reach The Ashes along a mile of private, tree-lined drive that crosses a 17th century stone bridge, and by the time the barns come into view most people have already decided. The estate runs to 50 acres in the foothills of the Peak District near Endon, north of Stoke, and it has been landscaped with weddings in mind without ever looking like it: a lake, an apple orchard, formal lawns with deep planted borders, wheat fields and bramble hedges beyond them. There is even a little wedding boat on the water, which sounds like a gimmick until you see the photographs.
The two barns are both Grade II* listed and both handsome in different ways. The West Barn is the oldest building on the estate, a 17th century stone barn with original mullioned windows, great exposed oak beams and a Juliet balcony above; it holds the ceremony for up to 150 guests. The East Barn takes everything after that — warm natural stone, a polished oak floor, original timbers, and enough room to hold the wedding breakfast, the bar and the dancefloor all at once, with a viewing balcony over the top of it. Nobody has to be shepherded to a different building when the tables come down, which is quietly one of the best things about the place.
Accommodation is on site and characterful: the Grade II* listed Country House, a Coach House and a shepherd’s hut, with the Orchard and Highland dressing rooms for the morning and a suite for the wedding night. Weddings are exclusive use with a dedicated event manager, the catering is built around you, and there is no corkage on daytime drinks — a genuinely unusual policy that has saved couples a great deal of money.
Where the band plays
Bands and DJs set up on the East Barn dancefloor, unloading straight in from the North Courtyard, which is about as painless a load-in as a listed barn can offer. The dancefloor measures 7m by 9m, with up to 4m of depth along the back wall available for equipment, so a full line-up fits without anybody dancing into a cymbal stand. The venue asks for public liability insurance and PAT certificates in advance and will not let a band play without them, so send those over early. Stage lighting is not provided, speaker tops are capped at 1.5m, and dry ice is out because of the smoke detectors — all easy to accommodate, but far better known in advance.
A word about the sound limiter
The Ashes has a fixed sound limiter set at 100 decibels, a condition of its licence that cannot be overridden or switched off, and the staff may ask for the volume to come down. That is entirely workable — plenty of bands play barns like this every weekend — but it rewards booking musicians who are used to a limiter and who arrive with a rig they can control rather than one pinned at full tilt. The sound check is best done before guests sit down for the breakfast, or in the lull after the speeches. Music stops at midnight under the same licence, with the power cutting five minutes later and everything packed away by 12.30am, so plan the last dance for the stroke of twelve and let the room go out on a high.
Bands available in Staffordshire and perfectly at home in a venue like this.
More live music in Staffordshire.
- Staffordshire Wedding Bands
- Staffordshire Events Bands
- Tribute Acts in Staffordshire
- Wedding DJs in Staffordshire
- Corporate Entertainment in Staffordshire
Worth reading before you book: Sound Limiters Explained. More questions answered on our England & Wales FAQs.