Hawkes & Holland ™
Distinctly British Events
Extraordinary Experiences
Behind the grandest of doors.
A carefully curated collection of Britain’s most remarkable addresses. Some celebrated, some discreetly tucked away, and a few that seldom open their doors to groups.
From the understated luxury of Babington and Soho Farmhouse to the grandeur of Estelle Manor, Cliveden House, Fairmont Windsor Park, Gleneagles and St Andrews, the quintessentially British charm of The Lygon Arms and the timeless elegance of Beaverbrook, we create exceptional events and experiences in some of Britain’s finest settings, including exclusive venues and private spaces not ordinarily available to groups.
Private members’ clubs, historic country houses, exclusive estates and extraordinary venues, each carefully selected to suit your occasion.
Whether an intimate gathering, executive retreat, incentive programme or spectacular celebration, we bring together exceptional places, personal relationships and impeccable delivery.
No ordinary venues. No predictable experiences. Just remarkable Britain, exceptionally delivered.
Members Clubs
Iconic & Extraordinary Venues
Private Estates, Historic Houses & Castles
Some of Britain’s best rooms come with a membership list, a house rule or two and absolutely no interest in appearing on a conventional venue search. From Soho Farmhouse, Babington House and 180 House to Estelle Manor, Annabel’s, The Arts Club, 67 Pall Mall and The Ned, these are places where knowing how the house works matters. Some spaces are members-only, others decidedly selective. The appeal is not simply the address, but the atmosphere, discretion and sense that you are somewhere not everyone gets to be. For the right occasion, that can make all the difference. Happily, we know which doors to knock on, and how politely to do it.
We save Hogwarts, Titanic and some of Britain’s more gloriously improbable possibilities for our Private Britain collection, tucked rather neatly into the menu. Here, we are celebrating the extraordinary venues Britain does so well: Kew’s great Victorian Temperate House, the V&A, Fortnum’s Bar & Restaurant at The Royal Exchange, Manchester’s great industrial and cultural spaces, Cardiff’s historic landmarks and Scotland’s magnificent museums, galleries and halls. From London to Manchester, Wales to the Highlands, these are places with architecture, character and a story of their own. Because sometimes the venue should do more than simply host the occasion. It should be part of the reason people remember it.
Great Britain is blessed with an almost unreasonable number of very large houses. Althorp, ancestral home of the Spencer family and resting place of Diana, Princess of Wales, is one of those remarkable places we can access for a small number of exclusive events each year. Syon House, Boughton, Holkham and Goodwood offer their own extraordinary settings, while Blenheim Palace, Castle Howard, Burghley and Highclere Castle, immortalised on screen as the magnificent home of Downton Abbey, bring a little theatrical grandeur of their own. Think private dinners beneath family portraits and receptions in rooms built for entertaining royalty. These are private homes and family estates where access often begins with a conversation, a relationship and knowing who to call. Which, rather wonderfully, is where we come in.
Luxury Retreats & Five-Star Hotels
Whisky, Wine & Heritage
Inns, Pubs & Coaching Houses
Sometimes the cleverest thing you can do with a room full of executives is take them somewhere they cannot hear their inboxes. That might mean disappearing into Heckfield Place, Beaverbrook or Gleneagles, or heading straight into the city for something altogether sharper and more contemporary. Think W Edinburgh with its rooftop views, modern five-star hotels in Manchester, or Voco St David’s overlooking Cardiff Bay. From country estates and spa retreats to glass, steel and skyline views, we choose hotels for the occasion rather than the postcode. Exceptional food, beautiful rooms and somewhere worth staying long after the meeting has finished. Serious business, with considerably better surroundings.
Britain has been perfecting whisky for centuries and, somewhat inconveniently for the French, we have become exceptionally good at wine too. We can take groups from the great whisky estates of Scotland and private experiences at The Macallan to the vines of Gusbourne and Rathfinny in the English countryside. Add private tastings, hidden cask rooms, old-fashioned card rooms, cellar doors, vineyard lunches, distillery dinners and the people who actually make the stuff. The sort of places where a hand of cards, a rare dram and a good story can quite easily occupy an afternoon. Heritage is considerably more entertaining when someone hands you a glass.
Some of Britain’s best places have uneven floors, low beams, a fire that has been going since breakfast and a bar everyone somehow ends up propping up by the end of the night. From old coaching inns and village pubs with rooms to handsome little hideaways serving seriously good food, these are places full of warmth, character and the sort of welcome that cannot be manufactured. Perfect for smaller groups, relaxed dinners, incentive stops and evenings that are far better without too much faff. Expect good food, a proper pint, perhaps a pudding nobody needed but ordered anyway, and somewhere wonderfully British to settle in for a while.
For gatherings that deserve a rather more remarkable address.
Some places simply know how to make an entrance, and the right venue does far more than provide four walls and an excellent dinner. It sets the tone before the first guest has even taken their coat off.
A sweeping drive, a candlelit hall, a view across several hundred acres or a room with centuries of stories tucked quietly into the walls all have a part to play. They change the way people feel, the way they behave and, more often than not, the way they remember the occasion.
Sometimes that means one of Britain’s great houses or historic estates. Sometimes it is a private members’ club, a hidden dining room, a remarkable gallery or somewhere you would never think to hold an event until you see it dressed for the occasion. The important thing is that the place feels right for the people in it.
That is why we never begin with capacity charts and conference packages. We begin with the feeling you want to create, because the finest venues do not merely host an event. They become part of the story.
We Do Love a Good Plot.
Particularly one involving a magnificent setting, an interesting cast of characters and a few unexpected twists along the way.
Tell us what you have in mind. Whether an intimate gathering or an international affair of considerable proportions, we'd be delighted to help write the next chapter. Our focus is on the character of the destination and the bespoke moments that define a truly extraordinary British experience.
