Winkworth Farm sits at Lea, just outside Malmesbury on the southern edge of the Cotswolds, and it is still a farm — more than 200 acres of organic pasture worked by the family who run the weddings. The centrepiece is a 17th-century Cotswold stone threshing barn, restored rather than gutted, with the honey-coloured stone and open roof you hope for and none of the fussiness you fear. The whole place has an unbothered, welcoming quality about it, which is largely down to the people.
You get 3 licensed places to marry, which is unusual and genuinely useful. The main threshing barn takes up to 200 seated, the Long Barn up to 150, and out in the sunken garden there is a Cotswold stone roundhouse that holds up to 148 in the open air — a lovely thing to walk out from. Around the buildings are established lawns, deep herbaceous borders and a folly that guests can wander to once the evening is under way, which gives the party somewhere to spill into that isn’t just a car park.
Every wedding is exclusive use. On-site rooms sleep about 15 between Winkworth Grove, the farmhouse and a courtyard barn kept for the couple, and a glamping field opens from April to October for anyone who wants the festival version. Caterers are local and use produce from the surrounding countryside, and you can bring your own drink for a per-head service charge of £12.95, which covers the chilling, the glasses and the pouring. There is free parking for around 80 cars, and they can stay overnight.
Where the band plays
Evening entertainment happens in the Long Barn, and the way they handle it is rather clever. The band sets up quietly behind partitions while dinner is being eaten, so there is no clattering of cymbals over the starter and no mysterious disappearance of half your guests during a soundcheck. Once the speeches are done the partitions come out, the barn opens up into one long space, and the party simply arrives fully formed. There is a house sound system with wireless microphones indoors and outdoor speakers in the garden, so ceremony and speeches are covered whatever you book.
How the evening runs
The rhythm is ceremony, drinks on the lawn, dinner in the barn, then everybody through to the music. Music is allowed until midnight here with performers packed up and off site by half past, so a band taking to the floor after the speeches can play 2 long sets and bring things to a close at around 11.30pm with plenty left in the tank for an encore. Load-in and parking are straightforward, and being a working farm with a proper yard, nobody has to carry a bass rig up a flight of stairs.
Bands available in Wiltshire and perfectly at home in a venue like this.
More live music in Wiltshire.
- Wedding Bands in Wiltshire
- Events Bands in Wiltshire
- Wiltshire Tribute Acts
- Wiltshire Wedding DJs
- Wiltshire Corporate Entertainment
Worth reading before you book: Sound Limiters Explained. More questions answered on our England & Wales FAQs.