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About

On Hitched.co.uk since 2022

Last update: July 2024

The Walled Garden is a hidden haven of tranquillity providing an enchanting setting to create the perfect wedding. With its picturesque gardens, two atmospheric entertaining rooms, a lovely dressing room and an indoor and outdoor licensed ceremony area, The Walled Garden provides an ideal space for weddings.

Located a stone’s throw from Midhurst, West Sussex, this historic Grade II listed building overlooks the magnificent Cowdray Ruins and is situated at the heart of the Cowdray Estate. With its rich history and timeless charm, The Walled Garden provides a captivating backdrop for a memorable and magical day be it a larger celebration or a more intimate gathering.

The Dressing Room

Get ready surrounded by family and friends in the light, airy and spacious dressing room. With views overlooking the beautiful gardens, there is plenty of space for all the wedding party.

The Courtyard Room

With its exposed stone walls and plenty of character and charm, The Courtyard Room is a wonderful place to say: ‘I do’. It is licensed for civil ceremonies and can seat up to 100 people. This light and atmospheric room offers a sense of privacy and intimacy for your ceremony in the daytime, transforming by night to provide the perfect setting for your evening reception with plenty of space for a bar, live music and dancing for up to 130 guests.

The Castle Room

The Castle Room is a characterful space which provides a blank canvas for couples to add their own sense of style and identity. With views onto the magnificent Cowdray Ruins, the room is the perfect place for the wedding breakfast sitting up to 100 guests.

The Garden

From the moment you step into the private and secluded Walled Garden, your wedding guests are immersed in a truly magical venue. With the Pagoda licenced for wedding ceremonies, you can choose to get married outside in the picturesque gardens.

The garden’s natural beauty also provides a captivating backdrop for photographs and outside dining as well as an idyllic setting for your drink’s reception. Guests can enjoy champagne and canapes surrounded by rose and lavender borders, an orchard, and a scented herb garden.

Suppliers

The Cowdray events team have a trusted list of professional suppliers who are highly regarded in their field of expertise including florists, hair and makeup artists, cake makers, photographers and production companies.

Our in-house catering team The Yellow Kitchen serves the best local and Estate-sourced produce where possible, making the most of what Cowdray has to offer. There is also a selection of carefully chosen external caterers for you to consider. Our events team will work closely with you to make sure your day unfolds exactly how you envisaged.

Accommodation

There is a wide range of accommodation on the Estate to suit the wedding couple as well as family and friends. Newly refurbished luxury holiday cottages complete with hot tubs and far-reaching views are perfect for a mini moon after the wedding or for guests considering a longer stay. There are also four self-catered cottages at Benbow Pond, private, secluded luxury treehouses easily accessible from The Walled Garden and nearby Bed and Breakfast Accommodation at the Lodge.

Guests can also enjoy everything that the Cowdray Estate has to offer including visiting the award-winning Farm Shop, Café & Lifestyle shop, watching polo in the summer months on nearby Lawns, playing golf or just enjoying the many scenic walks across the Estate.

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Frequently asked questions

Venue type:

In the country
Unusual weddings
Historic
Marquees and tents
Outdoor license
Unique weddings

Ceremony options:

Civil ceremony licence

Dining options:

Seated meal facilities
Corkage option
Alcohol licence
Buffet meal facilities
In-house catering

Evening entertainment:

Dance floor
Entertainment licence
Live band facilities
Evening reception facilities
DJ facilities
Outdoor fireworks permitted

Overnight accommodation:

Overnight accommodation for wedding couple
Overnight accommodation for guests

Venue staff assistance:

Wedding coordinator

Other features:

Exclusive use
Accessible facilities
Car parking
Confetti permitted
Pet-friendly
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Reviews for Cowdray Walled Garden

4.8 out of 5 rating
4.8 out of 5 rating
25 reviews
97% recommend it
  • Quality of the service
    4.8 out of 5 rating
  • Response time
    4.8 out of 5 rating
  • Professionalism
    4.8 out of 5 rating
  • Value for money
    4.8 out of 5 rating
  • Flexibility
    4.8 out of 5 rating
J
Jake B. Sent on 10/07/2024
1 out of 5 rating

Terrible experience

Despite the beautiful venue, our experience with Yellow Kitchen catering at Cowdray's Walled Gardens was a massive disappointment. We had high expectations after attending previous open days and tastings, where the food had impressed us with its quality and presentation. However, at my brothers recent wedding, the reality was different. The catering felt rushed and lacked the quality we had come to expect.

The dishes were a far from what we had sampled before. The fish, for example, was served without being properly filleted, and the chips were rock hard and not edible, which was surprising and disappointing. Even basic food standards seemed to have been overlooked. The portions were also noticeably smaller than what we had been promised during the tasting sessions.

To add to our disappointment, the head chef's response when questioned about the quality of the food was incredibly rude and dismissive. Instead of addressing our concerns professionally, he seemed uninterested and defensive.

Our dissatisfaction was further added to by the response from CEO Jonathan Russell. Despite detailing our issues in a heartfelt email, his abrupt "end of conversation" reply left us feeling unheard and undervalued as customers who had invested significantly in their catering service.

When one spends a substantial amount of money on catering alone, especially for such an important event like a wedding, one naturally expects impeccable service and quality. Unfortunately, our experience with Yellow Kitchen catering fell far short of these expectations.

Cowdray is advertised as a high end wedding venue, which was completely let down by the disorganisation of all staff members involved, especially the management. There were plenty of other issues that were not addressed nor was an apology made.

The only compliments were the suppliers from outside of Cowdray that we organised such as the Drunken Jockeys
J
Jack C. Sent on 06/07/2024
4.6 out of 5 rating

Walled Garden - Wedding

The Cowdray team were brilliant and Walled Garden was an incredible venue for the wedding. The garden looked amazing and all the guests really enjoyed the day.
E
Emily Sent on 08/09/2018
5 out of 5 rating

Best day and venue ever

We got married here at the end of July. It is such a beautiful venue. The gardens were in full bloom and looked lovely.
We were so lucky with the weather the sun was out but had cooled out so we didn't melt in the gardens.
From the time of booking to the day we got married Jan was improving the venue. Jan and Mike were helpful and welcoming whenever we visited or contacted them. The men often talked sport as there was some football or cricket game on when we visited.
The venue allowed for a relax reception and all the guests have commented saying it was the best location. There is a good balance of space inside and out. The fact the the tables are in a separate room to the band/music means people can still stay sitting and talking and don't have to shout over the music.
Jan has a good list of suppliers to help you choose or you can bring your own in as long as they have all the relevant insurances etc.
I wouldn't have changed a thing, and will make sure I carry on visiting these gardens for all the great memories.

Thank you Jan and Mike xx
A
Andrea Sent on 17/08/2018
5 out of 5 rating

Look no further you will fall in love with this ge

We had the best day at The Walled Garden yesterday despite some fairly rubbish weather . Jan and the team have been amazing from start to finish and every thing was perfect . We had an afternoon tea wedding and our guests said it was so refreshing to have such a laid back casual wedding. I would recommend this venue to any couple looking for a stunning venue at a reasonable price .
L
Larissa Sent on 09/07/2018
5 out of 5 rating

Stunning day! Stunning venue!

To Jan and the team - thank you so much for helping to make our day so incredibly special!

The Walled Garden at Cowdray is unique, it is an absolutely stunning venue, set within the grounds of Cowdray Park & ruins. The garden and venue itself are beautiful, the surrounding area really dramatic. It is only a short walk (probably not in heels) to Midhurst town - we hired The Angel for the weekend. We would really recommend a visit even if its just for a day out.

Jan and her team are super efficient, incredibly helpful and allowed us to plan and bespoke our perfect day. Everyone we used on the supplier list was fantastic. We can't recommend highly enough.

Stunning!
C
Casey Sent on 14/02/2018
5 out of 5 rating

Intimate and informal

Dear Jan and Mike
We just wanted to say a huge thank you to you both for making our wedding day so very special. Your unique Walled Garden was every bit as gorgeous as we had hoped, and the time and effort you took to make it ‘our’ event was much appreciated.
Having everyone gathered around the rose arbour and fountain made it seem much more intimate and informal, and matched the tone of our wedding perfectly so we can highly recommend it. We have had lots of lovely comments from our guests about the venue as a whole, both outside and inside spaces; the gardens were truly magical and we are purposely took time during the day to have a bit of ‘us’ time in which to enjoy such gorgeous surroundings.
Your supplier list was also really useful – we cannot recommend Zoe Collyer, Buns to Banquets or Angel like Flowers highly enough without going into rambling lists of adjectives – suffice to say they understood our brief exactly and got the level of detail we were looking for, but made the whole admin side of the wedding enjoyable with perfection on the day…
We’re still on cloud nine, and will definitely be back down to see you soon – starting and then ending our wedding ‘week’ in the Walled Garden seemed very apt.
Many thanks to you both and indeed all of your team once again.
A
Alex Sent on 14/02/2018
5 out of 5 rating

Offered excellent advice and guidance

My wife and I were absolutely delighted with The Walled Garden as our wedding venue on the 10th July this year. We couldn't have been more impressed with Jan and her team- it was a perfect day. From our first meeting with Jan she was incredibly welcoming and friendly, informative and professional and the venue and gardens themselves are stunning. The Walled Garden is perfect for weddings of all sizes and we fell in love as soon as we walked through the oak door.
Jan walked us through every stage of the wedding, offered excellent advice and guidance and was always on hand if we needed to discuss anything with her and on the day was there to ensure that everything ran smoothly, contributing to a wonderful day.
We can't recommend the Walled Garden highly enough and my wife and I will return again and again to remind ourselves of our special day. Thank you so much xx
R
Robert Sent on 14/02/2018
5 out of 5 rating

A magical place

Robert and I would like to thank you very much indeed for helping to make Amelia and Matthew's wedding day so special. The Walled Garden was looking spectacular - a magical place.
K
Katrina Sent on 14/02/2018
5 out of 5 rating

Helpful and supportive from the time we booked

I would like to say what a lovely wedding we had at the Walled Garden on Friday 14th July 2017, Jan was helpful and supportive from the time we booked through to being there on the day to make sure everything was as we wished.
The beautiful gardens were admired by all our guests and the whole feel of the day was one of relaxed picturesque tranquillity. There was lots of room for the children to play and the whole venue inside and out gave a perfect feeling for our friends and family to enjoy our wedding.
We had Joe Keeley www.keeleyskitchen.co.uk catering on the day and all his food was of superb quality, many of our guests commented on the five star taste and presentation of all his menu. Joe and his staff were very professional throughout the day and I would recommend him to anyone having a function and wanting food to impress.
We also took advantage of photos in the ruins opposite and had them lit during the evening which gave a lovely backdrop to an amazing venue. This made for a perfect wedding.
C
Chris Sent on 05/11/2015
5 out of 5 rating

Couldn't recommend this venue enough - it's perfec

We chose The Walled Garden as our wedding venue for our ceremonies in October of 2015.

My wife and I fell in love with the Garden as soon as we walked in as it's in such a fantastic location and is immaculately presented.
Jan walked us through everything and was always helpful and approachable and was available 24 hours a day.

We had a handfasting ceremony on the lawn and a civil ceremony in the Castle room, both of which were wonderful and the garden looked amazing. Even in October there were roses in bloom, the apple trees were covered in fruit and the garden was full of life.
G
Grace Sent on 02/09/2015
5 out of 5 rating

Absolutely amazing!

My husband and I got married at this beautiful venue on Sunday 30th August. It was an amazing day from start to finish. Our guests were constantly complimenting us on our choice of venue and we couldnt fault a thing! Jan and her team were so helpful and were always willing to answer any questions that we had. I would definitely recommend this venue, it was a truly magical setting for our wedding.
R
Rosalind Sent on 25/08/2015
5 out of 5 rating

Richard Hamilton's & Priya Jacob's Wedding.

The Walled Garden is an outstandingly beautiful setting for a summer wedding. Richard and Priya, whose wedding took place on 23rd July 15, loved its medieval connection and its proximity to Midhurst's facilities.
Jan and her assistants were extremely efficient, knowledgeable and helpful throughout. There were numerous children and we were concerned about how they would cope with the long day. In the event they "had a ball" entertaining themselves in the spacious garden.
We thoroughly recommend the Walled Garden as a perfect venue for a happy wedding.
E
Emma Sent on 18/09/2011
5 out of 5 rating
how much is it to hold a wedding here please september 2012.
60 wedding guests and 80 evening
L
Lizzie Sent on 08/06/2009
5 out of 5 rating

Dream Wedding Reception

A huge thankyou once again for all you did for us on our wedding day.....our impending anniversary make our wonderful memories all the more vivid!
Hardly a day goes by that we don''t look back with excitement and fondness and remember how magical everything was. Thank you for helping us create our dream wedding reception
S
Sandy Sent on 27/06/2008
5 out of 5 rating

Magical Setting

Thank you for providing a most magical setting for our party - it could not have been more perfect.
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Map

No 1 River Ground Stables GU29 9AL Midhurst (West Sussex)
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