Grade I listed hall and Bank Barn on the Lowther estate · Askham, near Penrith, Cumbria
5.03 reviewsA Grade I listed country house in the Lake District where weddings centre on a restored stone barn, estate-grown food and an exclusive-use stay.
Askham Hall is a country house set among gardens, ancient parkland and the Cumbrian fells, in a quiet village near Penrith, within the Lake District National Park. It runs as a Michelin starred restaurant with rooms and wedding venue, part of the CIEL HOTELS group alongside The Queen's Head and The George and Dragon, and the family behind it keep it a relaxed country home rather than a formal hotel. The restaurant, Allium, welcomes both residents and non-residents, so the kitchen is part of everyday life in the house as well as of its weddings. The aim is a home from home, with history and natural beauty in the same place.
Askham Hall is available for exclusive use, so every wedding is exclusively the couple's own, with the whole venue taken for a minimum of two nights. The events team works out the rest of the day once the time of the ceremony is chosen, and is happy to be flexible about timings. The house is open to celebrations of every size, from intimate gatherings to full weddings. Guests can eat in the house, walk the gardens and sit by the fire, and a wedding here is built around the whole estate rather than a single room.
Askham Hall
Images courtesy of Askham Hall
Facts checked 5 October 2026
Askham Hall has several ceremony locations, indoors and outdoors, with the sweeping lawns a setting for an outdoor ceremony. The most popular are the front lawn and St Peter's, the local church overlooking the River Lowther. Couples and their guests meander through their favourite pockets of the estate to the ceremony location of their choice before confetti and drinks, with dried flower petals suited to outdoor celebrations. Fireworks are limited to New Year's Eve only, because livestock live on the estate all year.
Bank Barn is a restored stone barn with soaring ceilings, exposed beams and neutral interiors, and it seats up to 150 guests for the wedding breakfast, the speeches and the evening reception. It opens onto a festoon-lit terrace for drinks, dining and dancing, and suits a band or a DJ. The bar in the barn closes at 12.30am. Hire includes tables, chairs, white linen tablecloths, napkins, crockery, cutlery, glassware, a wooden easel and a cake knife. The Medieval Hall has eight rustic trestle tables for informal seating the evening before the wedding.
Up to 42 guests can stay on site, in individually designed bedrooms with their own period features. Lonsdale is the recommended honeymoon suite, with views across the front lawn and landscaped terraces, and was the preferred room of Queen Elizabeth II on her visits. Children are welcome and travel cots are complimentary. There is no lift, so the Medieval Hall and some bedrooms are reached by stairs only.
Wedding menus change with the seasons, and most of what guests taste is grown in the kitchen gardens and the fields, hedgerows and farms of the Lowther Estate. Autumn brings apples, medlars, plums, game and mushrooms, winter brings kales and root vegetables, and fruit and vegetables are pickled, dried or salted to last. Catering is in-house only, apart from wedding cakes and cheese displays. Couples may bring their own wine, prosecco or champagne, and a corkage fee applies. Severe lactose allergies, dairy-free and vegan diets cannot be catered for.
The listed stone barn seats 150 for dinner and takes 200 in the evening, with access the day before to style it.
Bank BarnTopiary lawns, listed terraces and a long herbaceous border, with ceremonies on the lawn and in the Garden Pavilion.
The gardens
Menus built on the estate's Shorthorn beef, rare-breed pork, lamb and kitchen-garden produce, from the team behind Michelin-starred Allium.
The foodThe whole house is reserved for the wedding party, with a barbecue or buffet in the Medieval Hall the night before.
The weekend
Rooms in the pele tower and the wings behind it, including Lonsdale and the Admiral's Room on the first floor and Wellingtonia, Cedar and Yew on the second. Rooms in the Pele Tower are pet free.
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A light first-floor room over the front lawn and terraces, large enough for getting ready and photographs. Queen Elizabeth II used it on her visits.
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Ground-floor bedrooms reached from the courtyard, both fully accessible.
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Each room is decorated differently; the Train Room has a timber mezzanine and Cherry has red damask walls.
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Share a few details about your wedding at Askham Hall and your enquiry will be passed on to them. A reply cannot be promised, and no time can be given for it.
Visitors arriving from the M6 follow the brown tourist signs signposted Askham Hall Gardens. There are two entrances: the first, signposted House Guests and Restaurant, is for restaurant and accommodation guests, and the second is for Bank Barn. The setting is secluded but not isolated, and taxis should be booked well in advance.
Askham Hall, Askham, Penrith, Cumbria CA10 2PF, United Kingdom
Transfers. The official access statement says Askham is on the bus route from Penrith and that local taxis, including adapted vehicles, are readily available.
Parking. Free village parking at the second entrance, which serves Bank Barn. Hotel and restaurant guests use the first entrance. There is a car park at the main house and two overflow car parks near the barn.
“Thanks again for everything. We spent the whole time during our honeymoon just reminiscing about the wedding and how amazing it was! It really was the best day of our lives and you guys worked so hard, the food was amazing, the service was excellent and the hall, gardens and barn were just perfect. We couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
Askham Hall seats up to 150 guests for dinner, in Bank Barn.
A ceremony at Askham Hall takes up to 150 guests.
Askham Hall can be taken for exclusive use, with a minimum of 2 nights.
Weddings at Askham Hall start from £1,800 for venue hire.
No. Catering at Askham Hall is in house.
The latest finish at Askham Hall is 12.30am.
Ask for a place, a name, a trade or the whole wedding. Every answer comes from checked records.
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