The Crown & Thistle - Guides for Brides

1 star 2 star 3 star 4 star 5 star (9)

Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Grade II listed coaching inn located in Abingdon

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The Crown & Thistle,Venues in Oxfordshire

The Crown & Thistle,Venues in Oxfordshire

The Crown & Thistle,Venues in Oxfordshire

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Seated Guest Capacity

20 - 80

Licenced for civil ceremonies

yes

Booking Bonus

GFB Exclusive

Complimentary meal for two with us to celebrate your first anniversary (T&C's apply)

Your initial contact must be made through Guides for Brides. Terms & conditions

Key Facts

Type of Ceremony

Civil ceremony license
Humanist / Celebrant weddings
Receptions Only

Venue Setting

Town

Venue Type

Barn
Boutique hotel
Small Hotel
Restaurant
Public House

Catering Options

Inhouse Caterers

Additional Facilities

One wedding per day
Bridal suite
Guest rooms
Licensed bar
Dance floor
Live music permitted
Discos permitted
Wedding coordinator
Onsite car parking
Wedding packages
Bespoke weddings

What Our Couples Love

Wedding Receptions
Licensed for Civil Ceremonies

Special Offers

The Crown & Thistle wedding deal

Complimentary Wedding Suite on the night* of your wedding.

Instructions

All wedding dates booked from now until 31st March 2020 will receive a complimentary stay in our Wedding Suite on the night* of your wedding.

*If your wedding package includes a night’s stay, we will offer the night before your wedding complimentary.

Terms and conditions

Please call for terms and conditions

About The Crown & Thistle

The Crown & Thistle is a 400 year old grade II listed coaching inn located in Abingdon, within easy reach of Didcot, Wantage, Wallingford & Oxford. The Barn makes a beautiful wedding venue and is licensed for civil ceremonies. Barn weddings

The Crown & Thistle at the heart of Abingdon-on-Thames is a stunning modern interpretation of a traditional coaching inn, having recently benefited from a major £1.8m refurbishment.

We pride ourselves on delicious food using the best ingredients, a wide range of drinks, and beautiful, comfortable surroundings.

With 18 luxury en-suite bedrooms and a stunning converted barn function room, the Crown & Thistle is also available for private hire, from meetings and conferences to events and weddings. Our newly awarded wedding license means you and your guests can enjoy both the ceremony and celebrations in beautiful, historic surroundings.

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Capacity

Guests for a ceremony:80

Guests sit down meal:20 - 80

Guests buffet / cocktails:120

Price

£ ££ £££ ££££ Based on a typical wedding reception for 80 guests, including venue hire, wedding breakfast, drinks package and evening buffet.

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Customer Reviews

1 star2 star3 star4 star5 star

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1 star2 star3 star4 star5 star

We had an amazing wedding day in April 2019 at the Crown and Thistle Hotel and we would really recommend as a wedding venue. We had our ceremony and reception at the venue, and it couldn't have been a better day. The Barn is a beautiful setting, and the ceremony felt really intimate. It's perfect if you like the rustic look; we kept it really simple with our table decorations and the staff made everything look so beautiful.
In general all the staff were all so helpful and made our day go without a flaw.
And a massive thank you to the chef, the food was so good, and we even have our friends telling us a month on that it is some of the best wedding food they have had! Portions were excellent, and the evening buffet was really great too so it was really good value for money as part of the packages they offer.
The Abbey Gardens just behind the venue is great for wedding photos too, so we felt the venue had everything we needed.
The team were all so helpful, especially Danielle at Head Office and Giancarlo and Alice at the venue, who were so helpful at every meeting and answered all our questions. Thanks so much; we'd love to go back and celebrate our day all over again!

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Joanne & Bob

14-05-2019

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1 star2 star3 star4 star5 star

The staff at the Crown & Thistle are very welcoming and nothing is too much trouble. The food is amazing, and the barn is beautiful.

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John

28-02-2019

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1 star2 star3 star4 star5 star

My daughter had her whole wedding day at this venue last weekend and we had such a lovely day from start to finish.

The Barn was the ideal setting for her small ceremony and meal afterwards. In the evening more guests arrived and it was perfect for dancing and socialising as we also had the use of a smaller room, The Minstrells, where the buffet was laid out with table and chairs for guests to chat and eat at the same time if they didn't want to dance. There was also use of the courtyard outside with table and chairs. Elderly and disabled ones may need help on the listed cobbles though as they are very old so understandably uneven.

A few minutes walk away are the Abbey Gardens which is a lovely setting for the wedding photos as it has small ruins as well as large grassy areas, wooded areas and steps for group photos.

There is also the inn, which the barn is attached to, which has a bar and restaurant with excellent food and boutique rooms above including honeymoon suite.

There is a small car park behind the venue and there is also a public car park a few minutes walk from the venue which is free after 6pm. PLEASE NOTE that the venue car park postcode is different from the venue address postcode as the car park is around the back of the venue off of Abbey Close so make sure that you give your guests the correct one and remind them the day before. Otherwise, they will end up going round and round the one way system passing the venue but never finding the car park!

The venue is on the edge of Abingdon town so you have all the shops, including a florist, within walking distance in case you need to pick up any last minute items. There is also a Waitrose store just down the road.

What made the day go especially well was the fact that all the staff were so helpful from start to finish. They couldn't do enough for us with no questions asked. We would particularly like to thank Dean, who was in charge of the whole day, for looking after us all so well. He was always on hand but was never intrusive and even when we were up until 1am the night before with last minute preparations, he popped in and out in case we needed anything. He also oversaw the meal service which all went without a hitch with the food being brought in and plates cleared away quickly and efficiently. Even though we had a last minute change of guests and, unexpectedly, ended up with one extra who was also a vegan, it was no problem and another chair was quickly set up and a vegan meal provided!

We would also like to thank Jane who was on hotel reception and who originally showed us around the venue. She also was very efficient, friendly, approachable and nothing was too much trouble. The other hotel staff, including the cleaners, were also very friendly and helpful.

Lastly, we would like to thank all the rest of the team for working so tirelessly in the background including the chef and kitchen staff (the food was of excellent quality), bar staff and all those that helped to set up and clear away the tables etc. You all contributed to making our daughter and her new husband's day such a special one!!

All in all, we had a lovely experience with this hotel and wedding venue and would highly recommend it!!

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Sandra

13-11-2017

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1 star2 star3 star4 star5 star

I was just looking on this site while reminiscing about my wedding last year and was surprised to see that there were no reviews for the Crown and Thistle. We enjoyed a superb reception at the hotel last April. The food and service were outstanding. It is a wonderful venue for a reception with delightful rooms for guests. I would wholeheartedly recommend a wedding reception here.

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Mrs Middleton

13-11-2017

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1 star2 star3 star4 star5 star

All of the staff at the Crown and Thistle really pulled out all the stops to ensure that our wedding day went without a hitch (well we got hitched obviously...). From our first planning meeting, to the tasting event, to the preparation for the event itself, everything was handled sensitively and professionally. Nothing was ever a problem, whether it was the timings for aspects of the day, the dietary requirements of our guests, liaising with other wedding day service providers (florists, DJ and photographer) or last minute rearrangements to the seating arrangements. Many of our guests have commented on what a beautiful venue the Crown and Thistle is for a wedding (and a great place to stay), how warm the welcome was, how good the food was and what a fantastic place it is for a wedding reception. Working with the guys at the Crown and Thistle definitely made what could have been quite a stressful process much less hassle than it could have been and made our wedding day a day that we will never forget.

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Awards vote

21-04-2015

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1 star2 star3 star4 star5 star

It has been a complete joy from start to finish having our wedding at The Crown & Thistle. From our first meeting with Pete the manager we were made to feel extremely welcome, I had some quite ambitious decoration ideas that we were allowed to spend the whole day before putting up. They also helped us choose a great menu which they let us taste before, including some great wines. It was hard to decide what to have only because the choice was so wide and everything was so tasty as well as beautifully presented.
The whole day went without a hitch, the staff were amazing and worked tirelessly for us, we had so many compliments on the venue and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a venue with style and somewhere that says yes to every little idea you can think of.

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Awards vote

04-01-2015

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1 star2 star3 star4 star5 star

Lovely location with a beautiful court yard that is light by fairy lights. The Barn is great and held our 150 guess for the evening event. The lovely touches of being able to make your own menu was great. Staff our amazing so helpful. I would highly recommend The Crown and Thistle.

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Awards vote

27-11-2014

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1 star2 star3 star4 star5 star

The Crown & Thistle barn is a beautiful venue for any gathering and comfortably accommodated our 30-40 wedding guests. The event organizers were wonderful as they were always contactable and flexible around ever changing ideas and concepts. The food service during the reception was delicious, generous, swift and organized. Further to this the staff were warm, friendly and on hand for any request! The bridal suite was gorgeous and ensured that the start and end of the day was stress-free. It made for a wonderful ambiance in a beautiful venue for a magical and relaxed day. A fantastic venue with great staff - recommended!

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Awards vote

09-11-2014

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1 star2 star3 star4 star5 star

They made our day even better than we thought possible. Staff our amazing do helpful. I would recommend The Crown and Thistle 100%

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Awards nomination

08-11-2014

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