HALL USE AND BOOKINGS
GARDEN HALL: Day or Evening Bookings £20.00 per hour (charged by the hour including setting up and tidying up time).
Friday / Saturday evening bookings 5.00pm – 11pm = £150.00. Please note that if you require access sooner then hourly charges apply.
As one of our regular users commented recently after a social event in the hall “It was was great with a nice background and of course it’s beautiful place. Most of our guests like hall. It’s very quiet, parking is OK and no one disturbs you.
Finishing time and Noise Levels.
The hall is in a residential area. Finishing times must be no later than 11:30pm. We also ask that noise levels as heard outside the hall MUST be kept to sensible levels and organisers are RESPONSIBLE for ensuring this is the case.
Deposit of £150 required for some evening bookings, returnable if no additional clean up work is required. Note, that depending on the timing of the event, weekends/ bank holidays, it may take a week after the event for the refund to reach your account.
For all bookings please complete the Watlington House hall booking form 2024 and send to Richard Bennett (HonSec.WatHouse@outlook.com) along with your signed Conditions of Hiring the Hall/ Meeting Room: Watlington House Trust Hall Hire Terms 2025
Seating Capacity 70+ Theatre Style
Recent uses for the hall. A cycling group drop off on its way from London to Cardiff, a XXth birthday, a big meeting and a wedding celebration
Parking We rent out parking spaces to local office workers and local residents, who find parking in nearby streets difficult to find. The car park is therefore busy all the time, including evenings and weekends. Hall users should only assume there will be 4 available car parking places for their use. They need to manage their guests parking to ensure they do NOT take the places of our paying parkers or block them in.
If you have guests with Blue Badges there are usually a couple of spaces they can use immediately outside in South Street or in the Grove. All all other guests who are driving should be told to; 1. park in South Street, there are a number of parking places beyond Sidmouth St, it is reasonably priced. 2. use the NCP pay car park in South St 4 minutes walk away the link for charges etc is Reading South Street. It is almost opposite the South St Arts Centre/ behind the PACT building. To find it Search ///blank.paint.rigid the link is here what3words /// The simplest way to talk about location
There are 17 tables and 70+ chairs (some soft some solid) which users have access to. There is no audio visual equipment. There is a light projector available for use, notify on booking if you require this. There is a cable cover in the small cupboard with roller doors to the right in the kitchen.
The acoustics in the hall are good, most speakers can be heard clearly without microphones. However. There is a speaker system which can be used with PCs and also a portable speaker with a microphone. If you wish to used these please notify on booking.
There is a flip chart and whiteboard in the area where the tables and chairs are kept.
There is a large blank wall to project onto. Users must not stick things to this wall with blue/ white tack or tape. TA hot water boiler constantly working ensures it is easy to make Tea & Coffee. There are a large number of mugs in one of the cupboards, if they are used please wash and dry them and return to the cupboard.
The hall is on one level throughout. We have not as yet been able to make access wheelchair friendly, the doors of the late 1880s building are narrow, there are ramps to ease access.
The garden is available for guests to use. It is not exclusive use as during the working week some of our house business/ charity tenants do use it during the summer. If you have children please ensure they are safe in the garden. Some common plants can be poisonous. The gravelled areas can be slippery. Users have to manage their risk.
Guiding your guests to find the hall
Please don’t guide them to the house (44 Watlington St), they will not get in that way. Access to the Garden Hall is via the double garden gates in South St. RG1 4AP Or using What 3 words https://w3w.co/broke.critic.pouch