Old Palace Chester
Old Palace Chester is an exclusive-use wedding and events venue in a 1751 Grade II listed Georgian manor on the River Dee in Chester, UK. Operated by Old Bishops Palace Limited within the Artemis Venue Collection, it serves wedding couples, corporate clients, and private celebration guests with venue hire, in-house catering, and on-site accommodation.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1751
- HeadquartersChester, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Old Palace Chester does
Old Palace Chester is an exclusive-use wedding and events venue housed in a Grade II listed 1751 Georgian manor on the banks of the River Dee in Chester, England. The property contains 23 en-suite bedrooms (including The Palace Suite honeymoon suite), four licensed event spaces (The Ballroom seating up to 150, The River Room ceremony space up to 110, the Arrival Hall, and the Peploe Lounge and Bar), private riverside gardens, and outdoor ceremony terraces. The venue is operated by Old Bishops Palace Limited (company number 10930657) and forms part of the Artemis Venue Collection, with administrative services provided by Country House Wedding Venues Ltd and catering delivered by Venue Catering and Events Ltd, both Artemis Group entities.
The business model combines one-time venue hire fees with in-house catering and accommodation revenue, sold primarily to wedding couples and corporate event planners through a consultative sales process. Pricing is bespoke, structured around minimum spends and day-of-week tiers, with evening-only hire starting at £1,500 (Sunday-Thursday) and £2,000 (Friday-Saturday), and a non-refundable £750 booking deposit. Ancillary revenue streams include twice-yearly Tasting Table dining events open to the public, Chester Race Day accommodation packages, seasonal party packages, and corporate events. Marketing is conducted through wedding industry platforms (Hitched, Bridebook), Instagram, the venue blog, wedding exhibitions, and cross-venue promotion via the Artemis Venue Collection.
The venue employs approximately 8 staff, actively hiring across kitchens, front of house, and accommodation. Customers are predominantly individual wedding couples, with secondary segments including corporate clients (such as Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts), private celebration hosts, Chester Racecourse visitors, and dining experience seekers. The competitive position is anchored by the Grade II listed status of the building and its historic interiors, which together create a regulatory and aesthetic barrier to direct replication.
Old Palace Chester firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Old Palace Chester
- Legal name
- Old Bishops Palace Limited
- Website
- https://oldpalacechester.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1751
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Old Palace Chester is an exclusive-use wedding and events venue in a 1751 Grade II listed Georgian manor on the River Dee in Chester, UK. Operated by Old Bishops Palace Limited within the Artemis Venue Collection, it serves wedding couples, corporate clients, and private celebration guests with venue hire, in-house catering, and on-site accommodation.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Old Palace Chester industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Wedding & Events Venue Services
- NAICS
- Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels (72111)
- SIC
- Hotels & Motels (7011), Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Private House Hotels & Small Luxury Inns (THAGADAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Historic & Heritage Full-Service Hotels (THAGAAAG)
Keywords
Where Old Palace Chester is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chester
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Old Palace Chester business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Venue Hire: Core revenue from exclusive-use hire of the Georgian manor for weddings, events, and celebrations. Pricing varies by day of week, season, and specific requirements. The venue offers various packages including full-day and evening-only hire options.
- Catering and F&B: All food and beverage is provided by the in-house catering team. Revenue includes wedding breakfasts, drinks receptions, evening food, and bespoke cocktail packages. The venue offers seasonal menus with flexible à la carte pricing.
- Accommodation: Revenue from 22 en-suite bedrooms and the Palace Suite honeymoon suite. All accommodation is exclusive to wedding and event guests, priced per room per night with breakfast included.
- Tasting Table Events: The venue hosts seasonal Tasting Table dining experiences open to the public, typically around 80 attendees per event. These ticketed events showcase the culinary team's capabilities and serve as a conversion funnel for wedding bookings.
- Race Day Packages: Specialised accommodation packages for Chester Racecourse visitors, including overnight stays with breakfast, positioned as a premium alternative to standard hotel accommodation near the racecourse.
- Corporate Events: Revenue from hosting corporate events, Christmas parties, summer parties, private hire, and special occasions including product launches, conferences, awards evenings, and gala dinners.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Venue Booking Deposit |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Evening-Only Venue Hire |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | 2026 Early Booking Offer |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Accommodation Complimentary Offer |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Old Palace Chester product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Old Palace Chester is a Grade II listed Georgian manor in Chester, England, operating as an exclusive-use wedding and events venue. The property is hired on a private, one-event-at-a-time basis and offers multiple ceremony and reception rooms (Ballroom, River Room, Arrival Hall, Peploe Lounge and Bar, Garden Terrace), in-house banqueting led by Head Chef Justin Alden, and on-site overnight accommodation across 22 en-suite bedrooms plus a Palace Suite honeymoon room. The venue also hosts corporate functions, seasonal party packages, and standalone dining experiences such as the Tasting Table.
Product overview
Old Palace Chester is an exclusive-use Georgian manor wedding and events venue offering a comprehensive portfolio of spaces and services. The core offering is exclusive venue hire, which includes multiple event spaces: The Ballroom (up to 150 seated), The River Room ceremony space (up to 110), The Arrival Hall, and the Peploe Lounge and Bar. Outdoor spaces include the Garden Terrace and private riverside gardens overlooking the River Dee. Accommodation comprises 22 en-suite guest bedrooms plus The Palace Suite honeymoon suite, along with The Morning Room and The Den for wedding preparation. The venue provides in-house catering through its expert culinary team, offering seasonal menus, the River Kitchen evening dining experience, and bespoke cocktail services. Additional offerings include the Tasting Table seasonal dining events, Chester Race Day packages, and corporate event hosting. The venue operates as a single unified offering with all services integrated, not as a modular platform.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Guests accommodated: up to 200 total, 150 seated dining, 55 overnight in 23 bedrooms
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Old Palace Chester
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Old Palace Chester technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature5 records
Old Palace Chester partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Country House Wedding Venues Ltd (CHWV)coreCHWV manages the website and administrative tasks on behalf of Old Bishops Palace Ltd. Any personal information submitted via the website is processed by CHWV. CHWV is part of the Artemis Group of companies.
- Venue Catering and Events Ltd (VCE)coreVCE provides catering and events services at the venue. When engaged for event services such as catering, VCE acts as a data controller for personal information they process. VCE is also part of the Artemis Group of companies.
- Artemis Venue CollectioncoreArtemis Venue Collection is a group of exclusive venues across the UK that Old Palace Chester is part of. Each venue is supported by a highly experienced team and benefits from cross-venue marketing and brand positioning.
- Magic BreakfastminorOld Palace Chester supports Magic Breakfast, a charity that provides free, nutritious breakfasts to children who might otherwise start the day hungry. Couples are given the option to add a voluntary donation to Magic Breakfast at their final Planning Meeting.
- Shangri-La Hotels and ResortsminorShangri-La Hotels and Resorts organised a sustainable travel industry event at Old Palace Chester, bringing together prestigious travel companies for a tradeshow, sustainability-focused dinner, and awards presentation.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Old Palace Chester competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Caswell House: Exclusive-use Grade II listed manor house wedding venue in Oxfordshire offering full venue hire, on-site accommodation, in-house catering, and multiple ceremony spaces. Closely comparable exclusive-use heritage model in a different region.
- Le Gothique: Exclusive-use historic wedding venue set within a restored Victorian estate offering ceremony spaces, accommodation, and in-house catering. Comparable exclusive-use heritage positioning and pricing tier.
- Peckforton Castle: Exclusive-use Victorian castle wedding and events venue in rural Cheshire, also part of the Artemis Venue Collection. Directly comparable operating model — exclusive hire, on-site accommodation, in-house catering, heritage setting — and one of the closest geographic competitors to Old Palace Chester.
- Gosfield Hall: Exclusive-use Grade I listed Georgian manor wedding venue in Essex offering full venue hire, on-site accommodation, multiple ceremony spaces, and in-house catering. Closely comparable heritage model with similar wedding-market positioning.
- Loseley Park: Exclusive-use historic Elizabethan manor wedding venue in Surrey with multiple event spaces, heritage gardens, and in-house catering. Directly comparable heritage-exclusive-use positioning for weddings and corporate events.
- Northcote at Old Northcote: Exclusive-use country house wedding venue with on-site accommodation, multiple event spaces, and in-house catering. Comparable exclusive-use operating model targeting the UK luxury wedding market.
Regional players
- Highclere Castle: Iconic Grade I listed country house known as the setting for Downton Abbey, hosting a limited number of exclusive weddings and corporate events. Comparable heritage and exclusivity positioning but operates on a more limited event calendar and a different regional catchment.
Broad incumbents
- Cliveden House: National Trust-owned Grade I listed stately home operating as a luxury hotel with significant wedding and corporate events revenue. Comparable heritage asset and wedding services but a much larger and broader hospitality operation.
- Bovey Castle: Heritage Devon castle operating as a luxury hotel with extensive wedding and events business, on-site accommodation, fine dining, and event spaces. Comparable heritage positioning but with a wider hospitality portfolio beyond weddings.
Others
- The Knot (Bespoke Wedding Venue): Wedding planning platform and venue directory rather than a venue operator — included as an ecosystem peer that channels demand to UK wedding venues, drives discovery via reviews and awards, and shapes competitive visibility on platforms like Hitched and Bridebook where Old Palace Chester competes for listings.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Old Palace Chester social profiles
Digital presenceOld Palace Chester compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Old Palace Chester financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Old Palace Chester leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Old Palace Chester funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Old Palace Chester M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Old Palace Chester
What does Old Palace Chester do?
Old Palace Chester is a Grade II listed Georgian manor in Chester, England, operating as an exclusive-use wedding and events venue. The property is hired on a private, one-event-at-a-time basis and offers multiple ceremony and reception rooms (Ballroom, River Room, Arrival Hall, Peploe Lounge and Bar, Garden Terrace), in-house banqueting led by Head Chef Justin Alden, and on-site overnight accommodation across 22 en-suite bedrooms plus a Palace Suite honeymoon room. The venue also hosts corporate functions, seasonal party packages, and standalone dining experiences such as the Tasting Table.
Is Old Palace Chester a public or private company?
Old Palace Chester is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Old Palace Chester founded?
Old Palace Chester was founded in 1751. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Old Palace Chester based?
Old Palace Chester is headquartered in Chester, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Old Palace Chester make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Venue Hire is the primary driver. The others are catering and F&B, accommodation, tasting Table Events, race Day Packages and corporate Events.
Who are Old Palace Chester's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Caswell House, Le Gothique, Peckforton Castle, Gosfield Hall, Loseley Park and Northcote at Old Northcote. Highclere Castle is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are Cliveden House and Bovey Castle. The Knot (Bespoke Wedding Venue) is listed as an others.
Does Old Palace Chester have an API?
No public API is recorded for Old Palace Chester.
What industry is Old Palace Chester in?
Old Palace Chester's product category is Wedding & Events Venue Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAGADAL, Private House Hotels & Small Luxury Inns, with a secondary code of THAGAAAG, Historic & Heritage Full-Service Hotels. Its NAICS code is 72111 and its SIC code is 7011.