Walton Hall was built in about 1767, a calm Palladian house standing on its own island in the middle of a 26-acre lake, on ground where a medieval moated manor had stood before it. It is Grade II* listed, and the setting does something no amount of styling can buy: the water holds the house at a slight distance, so guests catch sight of it across the lake before they ever reach the door. Parkland and ancient woodland fill the rest of the estate, with a golf course rolling away beyond, and all of it sits a few minutes outside Wakefield.
The hall’s most famous resident gives the place both its name and a rather wonderful backstory. Charles Waterton, who lived from 1782 to 1865, was a naturalist and taxidermist who collected specimens in South America and then came home and did something nobody had done before: he enclosed 250 acres of his estate behind an 8-foot wall, 3 miles of it, at a cost of £10,000 and four years’ work, to keep out poachers and predators and leave the wildlife in peace. It is widely reckoned to be the world’s first nature reserve, and he threw it open to the public, entertaining Charles Darwin among his visitors.
The estate now runs as a four-star hotel across two buildings, and couples choose between them: the historic hall out on the island, or the more modern Waterton Park Hotel on the shore, both looking across the same stretch of water. Celebrations run from a gathering of 6 up to 145, there are bedrooms on either side of the lake including a Gamekeeper’s Cottage for anyone wanting a little privacy, and there is a spa, so the morning before can be as unhurried as you like.
Where the band plays
The two buildings are genuinely different rooms to play in, so settle which one your evening happens in before you book the music. The hall’s Georgian proportions are lovely and a little more contained, which flatters an acoustic set, a jazz trio or a compact soul band at a civilised volume, while the newer building is the more straightforward proposition for a full line-up and a proper dancefloor at the upper end of the numbers. Ask the wedding team for the dimensions of the room you have chosen and pass them on — a five or six-piece needs more floor than most people expect.
Getting a band onto an island, and how the night goes
The island is the charm of the place and the one practical thing to think about early, since everything a band brings has to be carried across the water rather than wheeled in from a van at the door. Agree an access route, a parking spot and an arrival time well ahead, check where the power is and whether the room has a sound limiter, and your musicians will be set up long before the guests appear. After that the day looks after itself: drinks on the grass, a long dinner, photographs chased around the island as the light goes gold, and then the band. Confirm your finish time and any restriction on amplified music when you book, and build the running order backwards from it.
Bands available in West Yorkshire and perfectly at home in a venue like this.
More live music in West Yorkshire.
- West Yorkshire Wedding Bands
- West Yorkshire Events Bands
- Tribute Acts in West Yorkshire
- Wedding DJs in West Yorkshire
- Corporate Entertainment in West Yorkshire
Worth reading before you book: Sound Limiters Explained. More questions answered on our England & Wales FAQs.