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About

On Hitched.co.uk since 2022

Last update: January 2025

Situated in the heart of historic Lewes, just over an hour from London and 25 minutes from Brighton, Pelham House is a stunning 16th-century townhouse wedding venue that offers a rich combination of historic charm and modern luxury.

The entire property is exclusively yours for the day, from the celebration rooms with ornate original features to tranquil gardens framed by rolling countryside and East Sussex clifftops. Conveniently located near a train station and offering stylish accommodation for up to 56 guests, it’s the perfect setting for a celebration with family and friends.

The Grade II listed venue features versatile spaces that cater to all your needs. The Courthope Mews houses The Dressing Room, a luxurious haven where you can prepare, spend quality time with loved ones, and catch a glimpse of arriving guests. For ceremonies, the Goring Room offers intimate charm with bay windows overlooking the garden, while The Gazebo provides an enchanting alfresco option with a flower-lined aisle and picturesque surroundings.

Your wedding breakfast takes place in The Blencowe Room, where grand marble pillars, intricate wood panelling, and dazzling feature lighting set the scene. Expert chefs will collaborate with you to create a perfect meal, from sharing boards to fine dining feasts, with ample space for dancing afterward.

Food and drink at Pelham House are a memorable experience, featuring family-style sharing boards, wood-fired pizzas, vibrant street food, and signature cocktails. The flexible à la carte menu allows you to tailor dishes to your tastes, with bespoke options available for a truly unique celebration.

At the end of the night, the romantic Pelham Suite awaits, complete with a lounge, freestanding bath, and elegant bedroom. With accommodation for up to 60 guests, your loved ones can stay in comfort and style.

The on-site team takes pride in providing exceptional service, guiding you every step of the way to ensure a seamless and unforgettable wedding day.

Frequently asked questions

Venue type:

Unusual weddings
Stately home
Historic
In the city
Outdoor license
Unique weddings

Ceremony options:

Civil ceremony licence

Dining options:

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

Evening entertainment:

Dance floor
Entertainment licence
Live band facilities
Evening reception facilities
DJ facilities

Overnight accommodation:

Overnight accommodation for wedding couple
Overnight accommodation for guests

Venue staff assistance:

Wedding coordinator

Other features:

Exclusive use
Accessible facilities
Confetti permitted
Pet-friendly
illustration notebook

Do you have any questions?

Reviews for Pelham House

We're all about trust. Our community relies on honest reviews to make your big decisions easier.
4.7 out of 5 rating
4.7 out of 5 rating
52 reviews
95% 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
    4.7 out of 5 rating
  • Flexibility
    4.7 out of 5 rating
Veronique
Veronique Sent on 06/02/2025
2.6 out of 5 rating

Beautiful venue, amazing food and catering service but unfortunately our experience was mixed as our coordinator was terrible

It's been a while since we got married here (April 2024), but we felt the need to add to the overwhelmingly positive feedback here with our experience as we are still appalled by some of the interactions we have had with staff at Pelham House and we want to make sure future couples can avoid having the same experience. We opted for Pelham House as Lewes is a significant place for us and the venue was easily accessible to family and friends coming either via Gatwick Airport or Brighton and London. The venue itself is beautiful and classic in a way that even if you don't add a lot of decorations, it makes for a beautiful backdrop in all your photos and activities. The catering staff was excellent (even taking over when our coordinator mysteriously disappeared in the early evening) and the food was delicious and portion sizes were much better than what we had expected. Overall, we still had a perfect day (in great part due to the sunshine, great suppliers and our friends and family) and we would recommend this venue overall, but I would advise you to be very firm if you do not like some of the service you are provided with ahead of your wedding day. While we voiced several issues we had had with our coordinator (who was pushing us to do evening food when we knew we didn't want to and it wasn't a necessary part of package, making rude statements about decisions we had made and consistently getting details wrong that we had to keep reminding her of), we remained lenient as we assumed they ultimately knew what they were doing especially as they are in-house staff. How wrong we were. On our wedding day, after we had checked several times ahead of time how to set up our bar tab and asked to pay it in advance so the groom didn't have to concern himself with this in the morning, we were told that we were not able to set up a bar tab for guests arriving before the ceremony (even though we had been assured this would not be a problem beforehand). Our coordinator was also nowhere to be found and the bar staff did not know where she was either or where to find her. When I (the bride) found out about this after our ceremony thinking there was a tab set up the whole time, I tried to find her and when I couldn't, I asked the waiting staff to find her. There was another issue where she had not set up sweets we had prepared ahead of the ceremony either, which we had asked for. Once she showed up, she immediately engaged with me with an attitude and responded only defensively. She then called my husband over to confront him in front of me and said he had advised her wrong (ON OUR WEDDING DAY she tried to start an argument between us!). When I made my frustration with her behaviour clear, she huffed and walked off to rectify the error she had made. She also said we should have known she was in her office outside the main building (which none of the staff even knew as no one could find her) and she clearly prepared for an open day they were holding at the venue the next day. While the venue is lovely in so many ways, it became very apparent throughout our time planning our wedding and shockingly on the day of our wedding, that once you have paid everything and you are booked in, their focus is immediately on new clients. When we said we didn't want to have evening food, we were told we should think about how that would reflect on the venue. On the morning of our wedding, my husband and his father did not get a parking space BECAUSE THEY GAVE THE SPOT TO A COUPLE BEING SHOWN AROUND. Now, they had told us exclusive hire started from 12, so they could do viewings before that, but we had given them clear indications of how many parking spots were needed (information they had asked for and we did not exceed the amount of parking spots we had been told were available to us) and yet on the day, when the groom asked the reception where to park, they didn't even apologise when they said the spot had been given to a couple viewing the property. In addition, our florist could not find our coordination when they needed to ask her something and the same applied to our friend who was meant to try out the speakers ahead of the ceremony to make sure everything was working. Again, the latter was something our coordinator had suggested doing at a certain time and yet she did not appear when she was meant to. Several of our suppliers commented on her attitude, one of them pointing out that they had never had such a negative interaction with a coordinator anywhere else. Just after dinner, she then disappeared without letting us know who to go to with questions and never resurfaced. Catering staff unofficially took over from her when we were wondering where the supplier for our speakers was. There are many more instances I could mention that truly shocked us as Pelham's whole spiel is that they are experts and their in-house coordinator is there to make your day as easy as possible. Unfortunately our experience was the opposite. Interacting with our coordinator and the way she spoke to us was the worst part of our day and I am still upset about her lack of professionalism and basic decency. This is really just a way to say, make sure you are happy with your coordinator and voice any issues straight away and maybe copy in other staff from the venue so they cannot ignore or gloss over the issues. Maybe we got unlucky with our coordinator, but our experience was truly shocking at times due to her.
Tim
Tim C. Sent on 30/09/2024
5 out of 5 rating

The Perfect Venue for us

Pelham House was the second venue we saw, and even though we had another couple of venues booked in, we decided Pelham was for us.

The building has such a natural beauty, and not just in the main rooms, every aspect of the house and gardens is beautiful. It is in an ideal location, an hour from London, and although it is in the central of Lewes you would never know it from the building as it's a bit set back with beautiful gardens.

The staff were great, there were a few things that happened behind the scenes on the day, but the staff handled it so seamlessly that we didn't know about it until the next day.

The food was amazing as well, the amount of people who said it was the best food they'd ever had at the wedding was crazy, and the amount of clean plates that went back to the kitchen spoke the truth. Not to mention how amazing the canapes were.

Emily was a lovely coordinator, and kept our day moving perfectly.

The hire, food/drink, and rooms were exceptionally good value, and the bar is well priced. I would say just outside London prices for pints etc. The only comment was the price of a 6 pack of beers for the groomsmen before the wedding was very overpriced, and I hope they change that.

I couldn't recommend Pelham more, they helped us have the perfect day.
A
Abby Sent on 06/08/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Abby & Craig 15.07.24

We fell in love with this venue from our first viewing! Absolutely stunning gardens, perfect backdrop for a wedding, friendly and helpful staff. The separate room away from the main venue for the bride and bridesmaids to get ready was perfect, as was the men’s room too! We attended a food tasting event before the wedding which we highly recommend doing, and the food on our wedding day and the morning after was absolutely delicious, all of our guests complimented it! We had the pizza option in the evening and had a pizza for myself and my husband in our room after the reception party.
Parking is very limited, but this isn’t a problem as it’s a very short walk from the station car park and the venue put on a shuttle taxi from the station to the venue.
We would highly recommend this venue!
K
Kirsten Sent on 31/07/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing day at a beautiful venue

We had an amazing day at Pelham House. The day ran like clockwork, the food and drink were delicious, and we had the best weather we could have asked for. We chose Pelham House for lots of reasons, including how easy it would be to accommodate guests of all ages, and it worked beautifully. Friends and family booked around 15 rooms in the end and it was so nice to have everyone around us. Breakfast was delicious too. Sophie and all the team were there to answer questions whenever we needed them, and they kept in touch to make sure we didn’t forget anything. A great venue.
L
Lauren Sent on 03/07/2024
4.6 out of 5 rating

The most magical day

We had the most magical day at Pelham house in June 2024. The staff were attentive and on the day, everything was perfect. The venue is stunning and the food was gorgeous. We want to do our day all over again!!! Thank you again Pelham House for giving us the day we dreamed of :)!!!
Samantha
Samantha Sent on 25/05/2024
4.6 out of 5 rating

5* start to finish

Pelham house stole our hearts since the first day we walked into the venue!

The planning team were amazing from the day we booked Pelham to the day we got married!

They guided us through the planning and made the process so easy! They put us at ease throughout the day!

We felt it was good value for money getting married on a Monday with a midweek package. They were flexible with our menus choices within the package for food but less so for drinks.

The venue is beautiful inside and out and is maintained imaculately! We had access the day before and stayed for 2 nights which makes the day run so smoothly!

The only con is the bar is separate to the dance floor but we had beer and prosecco next to the dancefloor to compensate.

Would definitely recommend!

Sam and Craig x
Connie
Connie Sent on 22/04/2024
5 out of 5 rating

A million percent would recommend!

From start to finish Pelham House have been amazing! Our coordinator Danielle was amazing and professional on the day. Everyone knew exactly where to go and what to do. She put up with me requesting multiple meetings and check ins and I felt confident having her organise our day. The venue itself is STUNNING. It’s modern, elegant and classy. All the staff there are lovely and so kind and helpful. Wish we could do it all over again.
Izzy
Izzy Sent on 14/01/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing day at Pelham House

Very happy with our choice of Pelham house for our wedding venue, a lovely building with lots of space but still feels very intimate. The team were very helpful and the day ran smoothly, we really appreciated the little touches like leaving pizza in our room at the end of the night. The food was excellent and we've had lots of comments from guests to say how much they enjoyed it. Thank you very much to the entire team at Pelham House!
P
Pippa Sent on 12/01/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Made our special day truly magical

The experience we had at Pelham House truly helped make our day so special. At every single turn, they not only wowed us, but they consistently went above and beyond to ensure we were happy. The venue itself is outstandingly gorgeous and the Christmas decorations turned it into a true winter Wonderland. The food, whether it was the wedding breakfast, canapés or evening pizza, was truly gourmet and all our guests absolutely raved about it. Finally, the service we received was impeccable. They doted upon us throughout the day and even when we had a small hiccup with a couple guests not turning up, they immediately sprung into action to combine a table to ensure it all looked perfect. We cannot stress just how great Pelham is and would absolutely recommend anyone to have their wedding there.
K
Katie Sent on 11/01/2024
4.8 out of 5 rating

Our perfect venue!

The team at Pelham House are all experts in what they do. Our wedding day ran so smoothly and we always felt like we were in very safe hands. The drinks looked fabulous and the food was absolutely delicious. We had chosen lamb to be cooked for over 100 people and we were worried that might be a tall order - but so many of our guests said it was the best wedding food they have ever had and the lamb was cooked to perfection!

The venue itself is stunning and the fab staff made it even better. The wait staff delivered food to every table perfectly in sync, which was so sleek and professional. Every team member exceeded expectations from the super friendly bar staff, to waiting staff making sure to deliver canapes to us on the day, to the lovely night porter who was available for friends to check in late. Having so many friends and family stay in the rooms at the venue made the event feel so special and all the rooms were of such a high standard and spotlessly clean.

Our wedding manager India was amazing at responding to all of our last minute enquiries, special requests and room allocation swaps and was excellent throughout our whole wedding journey.

We highly recommend this venue!
MrsAmbrose
Angel Sent on 13/12/2023
4.8 out of 5 rating

Dream Wedding

We had our dream wedding at Pelham House, it has everything we could have hoped for and more, we want to say a massive THANK YOU to Dani & the team for an incredible day!

For nearly 3 years (yes, a long time) Dani helped us with the planning of our wedding, she and the rest of the team are super responsive and friendly, we never had to chase them up.

We absolutely fell in love with Pelham from the moment we first visited, we knew it was the venue for us. It is stunning inside and in a beautiful historic location. Everything is catered for in house, from the food to the drinks, coordination to accommodation, on top of this they are exclusively a wedding venue. No other venue in Sussex could offer this.

All of our guests complimented the wedding, even saying it was the best they'd been too which was a HUGE compliment and reflection of Pelham House. The food was outstanding - that was the biggest feedback we had. They catered so well for all of the dietary requirements, our vegetarian guests were so happy with their meals. The wood fired pizzas also went down a treat in the evening!

From start to finish it was the best day of our lives, we didn't want it to end. Pelham House will always have a very special place in our hearts. I cannot say enough that if you want the most incredible wedding day, Pelham House is your venue!

Angel & Tom x x x
H
Hannah Sent on 18/11/2023
5 out of 5 rating

The best day at the most amazing venue

From the moment we first visited Pelham House, we fell in love with the venue. In the lead up to the wedding they were happy to answer any questions we had and were flexible with requests (allowing us to have an afternoon tea for the wedding breakfast). The day went smoothly with no hiccups. India (our wedding organiser) was amazing, she made sure everyone was in the right place at the right time and put us both at ease throughout. So many guests commented on how beautiful the venue was and how perfect the day was. We were lucky enough to get married on a sunny day and make use of the amazing gardens for our ceremony. All of the staff at Pelham house were very friendly and accommodating. We had the best day in the most amazing venue.
We cannot recommend Pelham House enough.
Lizzie
Lizzie Sent on 28/09/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Lizzie & Mark

Our wedding was the best day of our lives, thanks to Danielle Turner who was the best event planner. She was so professional and helpful and became a big part of our day. Not only did she help so much with our planning, she was just such a calm and happy person to have around on your wedding day. We had singing waiters and she helped us coordinate all of it so everything ran smoothly. Everything is done on a planner form with the organisation and it works perfectly to ensure nothing is missed. We dropped all of our stuff first thing and we gave Dani instructions for everything and there was not one thing out of place. Pelham house is such a beautiful venue, we had our ceremony outside which was my dream for the day; and it was stunning. We really will never forget the help that Pelham gave us and all of Danielle’s help. The waiting staff were wonderful and our food was out of this world. We had the pizza oven around 9pm and that was incredible too!
Thank you again Danielle Turner & Pelham House.
Lizzie & Mark Budd
Gary
Gary Sent on 26/09/2023
5 out of 5 rating

The perfect venue in a quaint town!

Pelham House is the venue to go for if you want a place that does it all! Special shout-out goes to our wedding event manager India Carr and the rest of the Pelham House team.

Her and the rest of the team made us feel so taken care of, the planning of the wedding in 8 months (That's right!) was actually quite stress free!

The team were always responsive in answering our abundance of questions and really made sure both the night before and the day itself went smoothly.

Their flexible room booking policy really helped us make the decision for this venue as well. The ability to book only the number of rooms you needed on the night of the wedding and then share the link for guests to book themselves in relieved soo much stress and financial burden from us.

The venue was everything we were looking for. A beautiful entrance hall, gorgeous ceremony room, open and secluded garden, modern chic bar and the breakfast room was otherworldly. They have a list of recommended suppliers which I would wholly recommend as it gave us the exact look we didn't even know what we were looking for.

Even though our day had on and off rain, the day went smoother and was more perfect than we could have hoped it could be.

I would unreservedly recommend others to book this venue if they are searching for a place to celebrate their day!
C
Courtney Sent on 17/08/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing find!

Pelham house is a little hidden gem! Beautiful inside and incredible grounds, I am so glad I found this venue for my wedding! The even coordinators are amazing, ensuring your big day runs smoothly! The accommodation is so lovely and the exclusive use is a massive bonus! Highly recommend this venue!
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Did the reviews win you over?

Badges

Pelham House Real Weddings

Mya & Olly
35 photos · 23/11/2024
Connor & April
38 photos · 16/04/2024
Angel & Tom
24 photos · 30/11/2023
Sherelle & Lanre
10 photos · 02/10/2023
Martyn & Debbie
32 photos · 16/09/2023
Michelle & Dan
76 photos · 11/09/2023

Deals

Events

23 Feb
Open Door

Join the team at Pelham House for our first look event, and discover our historic Grade II listed building, nestled in the heart of picturesque Lewes. Explore every part of the venue from the stunning grounds to the luxurious on-site accommodation.

Enjoy seasonal drinks and sample some sweet treats from their tea and coffee station, plus experience their interactive pop-up bars, which make a dynamic addition to your wedding day! The venue will also be beautifully dressed for a wedding, making it easy to envision your own special day here.

This event is by appointment only. Visit the website or call the team to book.

Please note: this event is for couples who have not yet booked with Pelham House. If you are interested in booking a re-visit, please contact the events team directly.

A 'Hitched' ticket does not confirm you are booekd onto the event.

Date: From 23/02/2025 to 23/02/2025 Schedule 10:00 - 16:00
Place: East Sussex, Lewes, East Sussex

Map

East Sussex BN7 1UW Lewes (East Sussex)
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