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01580 241344 info@greatbarnweddings.com

The Great Barn, Rolvenden – Details

A distinctive, unique and affordable, do it yourself wedding venue in the beautiful Weald of Kent

Registered with Kent County Council as a Kentish Civil Ceremony venue

 

 

“We had an absolutely incredible day at The Great Barn and have made memories that we will treasure for a lifetime. Friends and family have all commented on just how stunning the venue is. It was the first venue we visited and we fell it love with it the moment we walked through the doors!” Claire & Alex Wedding 14th September 2019

“We just wanted to say a huge thank you for all your help in the lead up to our wedding last weekend. We absolutely loved it, we had the best time and the venue was perfect. Malcolm was very helpful in the days leading up to it and also on the day. Our big concern was the noise limiter but we had 5 band members and it didn’t trip once … please tell other potential hirers this” Laura and Ollie Wedding 1st June 2019

“The barn was all that we could wish for and more.  All our guests commented on how fantastic our venue was and it was perfect for our wedding day.  Please can you pass on our thanks to Malcolm, it was great to see his friendly face and no question was too small or big!….the barn is just beautiful and we hope it will make many more brides and grooms as happy as we are.” Vicky and Richard.

“A big big thank you for the Great Barn which was much admired…it was a wonderful day and we were so lucky with the weather…the Barn was everything I hoped it would be.”Sam.

“Everything went amazingly well on Saturday. We got so many compliments on our venue choice and all the guests loved the barn.” – Kay & Ash

“We are so please that we had the barn as our wedding venue.  All our guests thought the venue was absolutely amazing!” – Cheralyn

“We had the most amazing wedding at The Great Barn at the weekend and we wanted to say thank you. The service you provided was amazing from start to finish” – Hannah & Adam

The Great Barn, Rolvenden, Kent.
Rear view of The Great Barn, Rolvenden, Kent.

The Great Barn is a stunning listed Kentish Barn in located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Rolvenden and is available for private hire for weddings and events. This fine barn dating from the 18th century forms part of a range of traditional brick and timber farm buildings last used for agriculture in the mid-1980s. It is constructed entirely of a heavy timber frame with the outer walls clad in weatherboard under a tiled roof.

The Great Barn is full of rustic character in a rural situation and is a magnificent venue in which clients can create their own distinctive event.

Description (Please also see Floor Plan)

The main barn space measures 25m long by 8m wide and is on two levels. The upper area, into which guests enter, is 11m by 8m and the lower area, down 4 steps, is 14m by 8m. To one side is a semi-circular “round house”, formerly the site of a mill, but now ideal as a stage or site for band or discotheque. The barn will hold up to 160 people.

To the other side are French windows opening on to a terrace with views across open countryside and steps down to the lawn area giving access to the service and barbecue areas and to the toilets.

Catering Facilities

The Great Barn comes complete with ready laid out kitchen areas consisting of two rooms measuring 5m by 3m and 4.5m by 3m, each with generous work surfaces and access to the lawns at a lower level as well as to unloading doors at vehicle height for delivery.

There is an electric hook up point outside for a chiller van/trailer, and space for an LPG cooker (not provided). The kitchen facilities are limited. All plates, glassware and dishes should be taken elsewhere for washing, in conjunction with the requirements of your chosen hire company (if any).

Hog roasts are very popular in a setting such as The Great Barn and this may take place outside on the terrace or lawn.

The Great Barn is registered with Ashford Borough Council Environmental Health Services and complies with the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2005 and has been awarded 5 stars in their Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. When selecting your caterer you may care to check that they too meet Environmental Health Regulations and are appropriately registered (Ashford BC Environmental Health Services 01233 330470).

Booking Dates and Times

The Great Barn is limited in its availability to 18 functions each year. Priority is given on a first come, first served basis. Most events are centred on weekends and therefore the barn will be available to customers from the Wednesday prior to their event to allow for setting up. After the function the barn must be left tidy as soon as is reasonably possible, and certainly by late afternoon on the Monday after a weekend hire.

All music must end by 11.30pm with guests departing by midnight.  A member of staff from Hole Park Estate will be on site to ensure an orderly close down and to secure the premises.

Our Availability:

We currently have some dates available for late booking in 2024 at a greatly reduced hire charge of £2,325 being 25% off the usual cost. Please contact us via email to info@greatbarnweddings.com to enquire about the dates available and to take advantage of this incredible offer! 

We are currently taking bookings for 2025 & 2026 so arrange your viewing today to secure the date of your choice

Use of the Grounds

Your function should be restricted to taking place within the barn itself. However we are happy for you to use the terrace and courtyard as part of your plans, provided no music is played outside and you have told us in advance what you are proposing to do outside. Additional tents may be erected with our prior consent. A Dutch barn, located adjacent to The Great Barn, is also available for your use and is furnished with rustic seating.

Cleaning and Ground Maintenance

Prior to each wedding we will clean the barn. Hirers will naturally wish to carry out final cleaning in preparation for their event. Thereafter we expect each hirer to clean it after their use to the standard they received it. Should we have cause to clean it there will be a supplementary charge (at cost plus an additional £100).

We will carry out all external ground care: mowing all the grass as necessary, to keep it short but not as a lawn, and mow the orchard for parking. Hirers may care to do some minor sweeping up to suit themselves.

Dance Floor

A dance floor is provided if you wish and can be configured to suit your requirements and numbers.

Sound Limitation

In order to comply with Environmental Health Regulations, we have installed a sound moderation system, which will cut off the power if the decibel level of 96.5 is exceeded.  Ample warning is given before cut-off. This system is as much for your own enjoyment of your event as for our peace of mind. (Laura and Ollie Wedding 1st June 2019: “Our big concern was the noise limiter but we had 5 band members and it didn’t trip once … please tell other potential hirers this”)

Tables, Chairs and Party Equipment Hire

An affordable, do it yourself wedding venue in Kent A distinctive and unique Wedding, Civil Ceremony & party venue A Kentish Civil Ceremony venue.
Interior view of The Great Barn

No equipment is provided beyond what you find at the barn now. You should expect to hire all tables, chairs, glasses and cutlery for your function and we are happy to recommend sources for these.

Winter Use and Heating

There is no heating available at The Great Barn. For events that may require this, you should make your own arrangements to hire marquee-style heaters with an enclosed flame, which must be primarily gas or oil powered and not use the electricity supplied. Two duct cut outs are provided, one at each end of the main barn so that suitable heating units may be located to the exterior.  These have proved to be sufficient for most events.  Please consult one of our recommended plant hire companies for further advice.

Use of Candles

Candles may be used to decorate and light the barn but they must only be on tables and within a recognised candle holder, and at no time placed directly on any part of the timber frame of the building.

Smoke-free Law

In accordance with HM Government’s legislation, no smoking is permitted anywhere in the barn.  Guests may smoke outside the premises and sand buckets are positioned outside for cigarette butts.

Fire Precautions

The Great Barn is fitted with a fire alarm which is linked to emergency lighting. The penalty for misuse of this facility is £100. Please note that it is not connected to a central monitoring station. Fire extinguishers are provided, however any that are discharged, except in emergency, will also be charged at £100, plus the cost of cleaning up as necessary.

Parking

Parking is in the adjacent orchard, which is kept mown to make it suitable for cars. When ground conditions do not permit use of the orchard, then parking is available around the extended farmyard at Halden Place, with some drivers potentially having a little distance to walk back to the barn, having dropped off passengers on their way in.

Toilet Facilities

There are two toilets available, which you may find sufficient but for larger events additional facilities may be required. If so, a trailer should be hired and located either under cover of the Dutch barn on the driveway or by the doors to the side of the barn. The driveway and the doors must not be blocked at any time. The hire of this trailer is the sole responsibility of the hirer.

The two toilets should be left clean at the end of the hire and you are expected to provide your own toilet rolls, soap and towels.

Refuse

All refuse should be bagged and taken away. We do not have a refuse collection for the barn.

Civil Marriages

The Great Barn is registered with Kent County Council as a civil ceremony venue. A ceremony may take place on any day between the hours 8.00am and 8.00pm. The latest booking time for a ceremony is 7.00pm. Kent County Council require a minimum of 28 days notice prior to the marriage taking place. you may if you wish hold your ceremony inside the barn or outside in one of two alternative designated areas – the orchard or courtyard, however contingency plans should be put in place for inclement weather

 

Licensing

The Great Barn has a licence from Ashford Borough Council for the provision of live and recorded music, dancing and late night refreshments. For the majority of weddings and events there will no longer be the need to obtain further licensing from Ashford Borough Council but you will still require a Temporary Event Notice if you are selling alcohol at a cash bar, or if alcohol is included in any ticket price. Your caterers or bar providers may already hold the necessary licence but if not please apply to Ashford Borough Council for a Temporary Event Notice.  This should be applied for at least a couple of months prior to your event.

Insurance

The hirer will be responsible for taking out Wedding Event Insurance and if the hirer declines to do so accepts that the Owner shall be in the same position as if a policy had been taken out with a reputable insurer and the hirer will not pursue the Owner for reimbursement for insurable events that would usually be covered by such a policy.

We hold Public Liability insurance to the value of £5 million for events held at The Great Barn.

Location

Please see the Location Page. If you wish to describe the directions in words we suggest the following format:

“From the centre of Rolvenden take the A28 towards Tenterden. Just beyond the end of the 30mph limit turn Left into Halden Lane, the turning for which is adjacent to a new housing estate. Drive for 1½ miles to a turning on the right marked Halden Place (opposite Leyton House).”

We erect sandwich boards on the A28, midway along Halden Lane and at the entrance to Halden Place on the day of your event to assist your guests in locating The Great Barn.

Please note that if you are using satnav the postcode is TN17 4JG and not TN17 4JA which is the mailing address.

If using What3Words, the reference is match.sprouting.spots.

Hire Charges

The Great Barn is available for hire at the rate of £3,100 per event – 1st April to 31st October inclusive. Outside this period the discounted rate will be £2,700. Hire charges are inclusive of VAT, all utilities used (water and electricity), the grounds maintenance and our Public Liability insurance.

A £100 supplement is payable for civil marriages to reflect the additional administrative costs and our attendance throughout the civil ceremony.

A non-returnable deposit of £600 (plus £100 civil marriage/partnership fee where applicable) will be required to confirm your booking, together with the completion and return of our Standard Terms and Conditions. Six months prior to the event we will invoice you £1,250 (or £750 off-peak season). The balance of the hire charge will be payable three months prior to the date of hire.

Related Trades

We list local hire companies and suppliers on our Hire Firms & Suppliers Page, although we do not stipulate which providers should be used at The Great Barn.

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