Event Venues | Park and Palace of Monserrate
A retreat for writers, Monserrate attracted numerous international visitors, especially among the British, who praised its beauty in their travel accounts and engravings. When Francis Cook, a rich, 19th century British industrialist and a great art collector, visited here, he was fascinated. From this passion there emerged a masterpiece of Romanticism: the Park and Palace of Monserrate.
Francis Cook put his dream into practice in transforming Monserrate into what we know today, with its exuberant gardens – capable of amazing visitors with the exotic species sourced from every corner of the world –, and a palace that represents a true ode to romantic architecture, the refined taste of Francis Cook and the genius of its architect James Knowles Jr., who combined various different influences here.
Entrance Square of the Palace
With the park and the palace as backdrops and a fountain in the center, surrounded by low walls delimiting the palace, this is a great place to admire the gardens surrounding the building.
Capacity: 60 pax sitting| 80 pax standing
Accessibility: Accessible to people with mobility restrictions
Characteristics: View to the façade of the palace and the natural surroundings
Balcony of the Palace
Surrounded by low walls and the vegetation that frames the palace, with the park and the palace as backgrounds, this is a wonderful location to contemplate the gardens.
Capacity: 30 pax standing
Accessibility: Accessible to people with mobility restrictions
Characteristics: View to the façade of the palace and the natural surroundings, with emphasis on the Lawn.
Romantic Ruin (Ruined Chapel)
Surrounded by vegetation and offering the perfect atmosphere for an intimate ceremony, this fake ruin was described as a “ruined fane” by Thomas Cargill, in his 1869 Monserrate inspired poem ‘Fairy life in Fairy Land’, creating the idea that this was once a chapel.
Capacity: 25 pax sitting | 30 pax standing
Accessibility: Accessible to people with mobility restrictions
Characteristics: Close to the Lakes, the Mexican Garden, the Rose Garden and the Lawn
Music Room
This is the largest hall in the palace, where music, the main social entertainment of the period, would be played in the evenings. The structure and decoration of the room provide for excellent acoustics, which allow music to spread throughout the house.
Capacity: 60 pax sitting | 80 pax standing
Accessibility: Accessible to people with mobility restrictions
Characteristics: Room with excellent acoustics.
Columned Room
Integrated in a set of support buildings located 100 meters from the Palace of Monserrate, the Columned Room is adjacent to the current Tea Room and its terrace.
Capacity: 80 pax sitting | 100 pax standing
Accessibility: Accessible to people with mobility restrictions
Characteristics: Space adequate for sound animation
Auditorium
With large windows overlooking the gardens from the fist first floor of the palace, over the main entrance, the Auditorium is located in Francis Cook's former private quarters, which were demolished in the 20th century.
Capacity: 50 pax sitting
Accessibility: Accessible through stairs
Characteristics: Natural light and excellent acoustics
