Large Barn Weddings
A modern, purpose-built banqueting barn in Kent perfect for larger weddings, celebrations and events.
Large Barn Weddings
The Thorne Barn can accommodate up to 150 seated guests, making it the perfect choice for a large wedding. It also enables you to invite 50 additional evening guests for a once-in-a-lifetime celebration!
A modern barn wedding in Kent is the perfect way to celebrate after you have got married! It’s charming and unique – not to mention it’s a lot of fun!
Your guests will be wowed by the setting, and you’ll have a blast celebrating your nuptials in such a fun and festive environment. Plus, there’s nothing quite like dancing the night away in a large barn created for parties!
Looking for a Kent barn with a difference?
After the legalities (choose from either the outdoor Wild Apple Orchard or the indoor rustic converted barn, The Old Malt Granary), if you’re looking for a barn venue with a difference, Thorne Barn is the perfect contemporary space that suits any wedding style, whether it is boho, classic, eclectic, elegant, formal, semi-formal, or ultra-formal, modern, rustic, reflects the season, themed, or romantic.
This stunning venue is set in the grounds of a former cauliflower farm. The Thorne Barn was once home to a cattle shed. But built from the ground up, it is now surrounded by relaxing patios and quintessentially English paddocks. This ex-farm now offers a truly unique setting for your wedding reception.
From The Ground Up
At Chapel House Estate, we have built a barn for you that allows you to decorate it and celebrate your love in your own unique style. It has air conditioning and blinds, so you won’t have to worry if it’s too hot in the summer months.
Most barns in Kent date back to the 18th or 19th centuries and have been carefully restored to their original glory. Just like these old barns, Thorne Barn features high ceilings but with all the mod cons. The Thorne Barn is a modern ‘white box’, a minimal and fresh banqueting space built for your unique celebration in mind. Being able to embellish the modern barn in any colour or style is one of the elements of this incredible purpose-built venue that makes Chapel House Estate stand out from the crowd of barn wedding venue attendees. Thorne Barn is a blank canvas wedding venue just waiting for you to add your personal swoon-worthy palette style and dreamy attire.
Floor-to-ceiling sliding doors ensure the barn is flooded with natural light, which is perfect for eating. The doors slide open onto the north terrace with an open fire. Beyond the terrace is a grassed paddock that can be used for a stage, festival tents and fun fairs. In addition to the conditioning, there is heating if you are planning, for example, a Christmas wedding or party. And it is soundproofed!
We have installed electric blinds for the perfect summer first dance so you can cut your wedding cake and then have your first romantic dance under the twinkle of your DJ or band’s lighting.
The after party
After the formalities, you can let your hair down and throw one hell of a party—one of our favourite reasons for you to get married! Thorne Barn, built in 2022, has been built with your wedding breakfast in mind and your ‘after party’! In addition to great food, the large barn enables you to book the best entertainment and put together a guest list packed with all of your favourite partygoers for one excellent memory-making occasion to treasure forever.
If you’re looking for a truly unique and memorable wedding, a modern barn wedding in Kent is the perfect choice. With its picturesque setting and a number of experienced and professional wedding coordinators who can help you plan your perfect show-stopping barn celebration, we would like to think you’ve just found your perfect barn!
Styling your unique wedding on the Chapel House Estate
No two weddings or barns are alike. Styling the Thorne Barn is entirely up to you. The venue, your guest lists, and the décor are all factors that contribute to a wedding’s unique atmosphere. So, if you’re planning a barn wedding in Kent, how can you ensure your big day is unique?
Firstly, consider the setting of the barn. Although modern, it is within a rural area, so you might want to embrace the natural surroundings and decorate with wildflowers and greenery. But as a modern barn, you can still create a rustic feel by incorporating rustic elements such as burlap and lace or go for a chic or modern and glamorous black tie look.
How is this possible? At Chapel House, we have given you a modern blank canvas that enables you to add colour or go all white. Or you could, for an outdoor garden venue in spring, go for a floral theme or all-pink tropical disco-themed, orchard-inspired soft apple greens, choose a modern lavender, lilac, mountain mauves and a fresh peach combo (as featured on Rock My Wedding), or create a gorgeous heady mix of, for example, bold and vibrant cherry tomato reds, blacks and hot smoked salmon pinks.
Whatever colour combination or romantic theme you choose, we can’t wait to see your colour palette and style come to life.
The lobby
The Downstairs Bar
The Upstairs 1920s Bar
Outside Thorne Barn
Frequently Asked Questions
There are two exclusive-use areas on the estate:
The Walled Courtyard and Thorne Barn are for larger weddings.
The Walled Courtyard, Lounge Bar, and No 9 Restaurant are perfect for smaller.
However, you can take full exclusivity for both areas on the day.
Yes, we are licenced to conduct civil marriages and civil partnerships.
If you book us for your civil marriage or partnership, we will reserve your date and time with Kent County Council under the East Kent Ceremonies team in Ramsgate. They will then contact you directly with the next steps.
Yes. We have an experienced, knowledgeable, and supportive wedding and events team.
The team currently includes three Wedding and Event Coordinators, a Bar Manager, a Restaurant Manager, a Head Chef, and their respective teams, plus an Estate Manager.
Yes, you will have your assigned wedding coordinator on the day.
Suppliers can arrive at 08:00 to start setting up for your wedding.
We can ask that all suppliers’ equipment be collected on the night of your wedding or between 08:00 and 09:30 the next day.
The estate opens at 08:00.
This includes our beauty lodge, which is perfect for one partner to get ready in. We also have our chapel cottage on the edge of the estate, which can be booked for the night before the wedding.
Book a late checkout with us; it’s another great space to get ready.
Yes, you are allowed biodegradable confetti and cannons.
Non-biodegradable confetti will not be allowed. If used, clean-up fees will be charged.
We are sorry, but we cannot allow fireworks displays.
However, indoor fireworks are permitted if you have a larger Thorne Barn Wedding, and sparklers are always welcome.
If you have booked an outdoor wedding and it rains, we will move you into our indoor ceremony area.
The converted Old Malt Granary provides the perfect indoor ceremony space and seats up to 150 guests, giving you a stress-free wet weather contingency.
Finish times for all events at Chapel House Estate, Sunday through to Thursday inclusive, are as follows:
23:00 = Last Orders Called
23:45 = Music to finish and Bar to close.
00:00 = Premises are to be vacated.
Finish times for all events on Fridays and Saturdays are
00:00 = Last Orders are called
00:15 = Music to finish and bar to close.
00:30 = Premises to be vacated by all guest
Yes, we have a Luxury Honeymoon Suite with a private terrace overlooking the Arts & Crafts-style garden in the 12th-century Chapel House.
We are not prescriptive about which suppliers you use; we are happy for you to bring your own.
However, we have a list of our most loved and recommended wedding suppliers on our website, which is password-protected and available to all booked couples.
Thorne Barn has a microphone, and you can use the sound system for your background music (via Spotify).
Old Malt Granary has a corded, hanging microphone and a sound system for your background music (via Spotify).
You can definitely book a band for your wedding. We do not have a sound limiter, but we do monitor the sound levels.
Noise exposure levels must be within the maximum, which is called ‘Exposure Limit Values’. Our limit is 95dB. When a performer reaches this level, the music is not cut off, but we will verbally ask musicians to reduce their noise level if they are reached.
However, please note we will turn off the equipment at the source if the performer refuses to reduce their noise level. If your noise level exceeds 95dB, your guests will notice and tell us that the music is too loud.
We always include VAT at the current rate of 20% on your quote spreadsheet and Sonas transactions.
We offer bespoke and wedding packages like Twilight packages, depending on your needs and wants.
We provide napkins in four colours: White, grey, oatmeal and sage green.
Glassware, plates and cutlery are provided for your meal.
You can hold a date for ten working days or 14 days.
After this, if you choose not to book, please email us, ideally with your reasons, and we will take your date off hold.
Wedding Guests
If you are staying on-site as an event guest, check-in time is strictly from 12:00 noon. We can not offer early check-in.
For a Twilight Wedding, check-in is at 15:00.
Children are warmly welcomed at Chapel House Estate.
We provide four high chairs strictly for babies aged six months and older. Additionally, we offer a specialised menu for children.
We can also arrange for additional beds in certain rooms or Hideaway Lodges, children are charged extra.
We require children to be supervised at all times.
Yes, we are more than pet-friendly and welcome pets to be a part of your special day. We request that guests do not leave their pets unattended and clean up after them.
We have a spacious 80-space car park for wedding guests and several electric charging points. Upon reaching Thorne Hill, look for signs directing you to Chapel House Estate guest entrance on the right. Once you pass through the gated entrance, you will find the large car park on the right.
You can find detailed directions on our Contact Us page.
Yes, guests are very welcome to leave their cars overnight.
Cars must be collected by 12:00 the following day. Please be aware that vehicles are left at your own risk.
Taxis will drop you off in the Chapel House Estate guest car park, the same as the pick-up.
Once the taxi has turned into Thorne Hill, it needs to follow the signs for the Chapel House Estate guest car park.
