Madingley Hall

Madingley Hall seats up to 90 theatre style in the Saloon and sleeps 62 delegates in en-suite rooms, in a Tudor house the University of Cambridge owns five miles from the city centre.

Why groups book it

John Hynde began the Hall in 1543, the future King Edward VII lodged here as a student in 1861, and the University bought it in 1948. It is now home to the University’s Professional and Continuing Education, which runs residential and non-residential courses here. For a meeting, that means a reception office staffed 24 hours with a night porter, free wi-fi across the Hall and bedrooms, and a meeting room prepared to your layout by the Hall’s own staff, with a conference office for printing and messages. Projectors, screens, meeting bars, Owl cameras and a PA are supplied on request, and you can bring your own device or borrow a guest laptop. The 8 acres of gardens were laid out by Capability Brown.

Meeting rooms and capacities

The Hall lists 16 meeting and event spaces; 13 have published layouts.

The Saloon has an Italianate plaster ceiling and 17th-century Brussels tapestries, with views over the gardens. Courtyard 1+2, opened in 2012, is the modern air-conditioned option and splits into two syndicate rooms, with Courtyard 3 alongside. The King’s Room, once the Prince of Wales’s bedroom, keeps its Tudor fireplace and stained glass, and the Board Room has a Jacobean ceiling with coats of arms. The Stuart Room has a lower level for serving refreshments, and the Hickson Room opens onto a topiary garden. Smaller rooms take boards of 8 to 14.

Dining and bedrooms

The in-house team writes bespoke menus from local ingredients, served in the Dining Hall or the Terrace Bar over the gardens. Full-day and half-day delegate rates are quoted on request. The 62 bedrooms (22 double, 5 twin, 35 single) sit around a cobbled courtyard and in the Tower Wing, with check-in from 4pm.

Access and parking

Parking is free, with EV chargers and two disabled bays at the front door. The entrance is level, the ground floor of the Hall is wheelchair accessible, and a lift serves two adapted bedrooms; the Doghole Room is reached by stairs only.

Comparing Cambridge venues

Among Cambridge conference venues, Churchill College is the step up when you need a 300-seat plenary and 199 bedrooms, Robinson College sleeps up to 280 delegates on one site, and Hinxton Hall Conference Centre adds a 290-seat tiered auditorium and 126 bedrooms. Browse more historic event venues and academic conference venues in the United Kingdom, and see choosing the venue around the event before you compare rates.

Source: madingleyhall.cam.ac.uk