Banqueting House Venue Hire

Banqueting House has room available for private hire

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Hire the Banqueting House for your own event.

The Banqueting House has function room; it can hold a maximum of guests.

The only surviving section of Whitehall Palace. In its heyday the largest royal palace in Europe, this historic venue is the only surviving section of Whitehall Palace and still hosts many royal and social occasions. The palace originally started life in the 14th century as one of the Archbishop of York's homes. A devastating fire in the early 1600s led to the edifice being rebuilt by Inigo Jones - often credited as being the first Englishman to properly understand and apply the rules of classical and renaissance architecture. Due to its isolated position, the Banqueting House survived a second subsequent fire, which razed the rest of the palace to the ground and it eventually became a royal chapel. From Henry VIII to James I, the building echoes with royal connections, the most sinister of which has to be hosting the execution of Charles I during the English Civil War. Charles II marked his restoration to the throne here 20 years later. The building is as architecturally significant as it is historically celebrated, introducing as it did a delicate Italianate Renaissance style unmatched in Jacobean society. It was the first building in England to use crown glass in its windows, while the fabulous Ruben's ceiling painting, commissioned by Charles I, is the only Rubens scheme painted by him to remain in its original position. Best for: Inigo Jones design, Rubens and royals, executions and events pageantry. Did you know? Revelry in the Great Hall was banned after the ceiling was decorated with nine paintings by Rubens for fear that candle smoke would ruin the artwork.

Banqueting House