Channels, Exclusive Hire photo #2
Channels, Exclusive Hire photo #3

Channels, Exclusive Hire

Location pin

Pratts Farm Lane East, Little Waltham, Chelmsford, CM3 3PT - 

  • Users

    Up to
    250 guests

The beautiful restored 17thCentury thatched Essex Barn is an idyllic venue for your special day. Set in tranquil surroundings, with large outside areas, a fountain, an avenue of mature trees & a 4 star award 17 bedroom lodge.
With years of experience our Wedding Co-ordinators & Head Chefs will ensure your dream come true. Every wedding is special to us. You can be confident that you will find us professional & organised, ensuring your day is relaxed, happy memorable.

If you’d like more info or have any questions, please click Send Quick Enquiry.

Capacity & layout

Standing

Standing

up to 250

Theatre

Theatre

up to 250

Boardroom

Boardroom

up to 20

Cabaret

Cabaret

up to 250

Location

Reviews

  • Paul Wallis

    August 2024

    This is by far the best venue for a wedding. The staff looked after us very well from start to finish for our special day. They made us feel really well looked after and they are very friendly and catered for us and all our guests very well. Food is amazing, venue is stunning and value for Money is 2nd to none. This is a great location for a any wedding as it juts made out day the best day so far in our lives 5stars is not enough they deserve 10 😃

  • Brooke Stebbings

    July 2024

    This place is absolutely outstanding! We came to stay for 3 nights as my mum was having an operation nearby. The staff were so accommodating and helpful especially James! Nothing was ever too much for him and he was so welcoming and kind. Will definitely be returning so we can enjoy the surroundings a little more. We went to the restaurant on site too and the food was fantastic, cannot wait to come back!

  • Sammi Clunie

    August 2024

    I’ll start with the niggles and end with the good points: We were married in the Spring and chose the Opulent package. We were invited for a menu tasting 4 months prior to our wedding day, we were asked to pre order and prepay for the food. When we arrived there was a printed menu on our table, I noticed that one of the mains was not what we had ordered (it was a lamb dish and we had ordered a chicken dish), the staff spoke to the kitchen who advised they did not have the dish we had ordered, they could offer a different chicken dish in its place. Approx. 6 weeks before our wedding day, we had our final face to face appointment to confirm the final numbers of 51 adults and 3 children and the menu options. When we signed the contract 10 months prior to our wedding, we had advised we would be inviting 59 adults and 7 children. The following day I received an email with a final invoice attached showing we owed an additional £435. When I checked our contract, I confirmed that we had overpaid and were due a refund of £424. I provided a copy of the contract with my reply to the invoice, upon receipt of my email the venue agreed the refund due to us. Weddings are a stressful time; being told we owed more money when we were due a refund was not a nice situation to be put in. My Dad is disabled and walks with 2 walking sticks, the isle wouldn’t be wide enough for him to walk me down with us side by side if there were the standard 3 chairs on each side. We agreed to 3 chairs on one side and 2 on the other with the isle runner removed and this would still fit our 54 guests comfortably. My husband arrived about 90 mins before the service and noticed the error that there were 3 chairs each side. He informed the staff who removed the extra chairs. We were asked to provide a playlist to be passed to the DJ, whilst I understand the DJ must read the room, most of the songs we requested were played within the last hour of the evening rather than spread out throughout the night. The DJ spent a lot of the evening at the bar rather than at the booth, with a pre-set playlist playing. There were times when the dance floor was empty. All of this said, the day was a hit! We lost one family’s attendance, we let the staff know around 11.30am and they removed those guests place settings for us and rearranged the table to cover the gaps. The bridesmaids and I were running approx. 10 mins behind, we were gently prompted to move on to meet the registrar rather than being rushed. The speeches went down well, the microphones were where they needed to be at the right times, the food was amazing. We received a lot of compliments on the food and wish to pass these on. The photographer and videographer had only requested a main meal each, as 2 adult guests did not attend, their starters were offered to the photographer and videographer. Glasses were always filled, there wasn’t a long wait at the bar. The staff were extremely efficient and helpful all the way throughout the day. We were asked to vacate the room whilst it was turned around to become the dance floor. This didn’t take particularly long and was finished before the evening guests started to arrive. The cake was removed to be cut after we have done “the cake cutting” and whilst we were having our first dance ready to be served with the evening buffet. We had advised and had catered for 95 guests for the evening buffet; 20 guests unfortunately were taken ill with covid. The staff were great at the end of the night boxing up the left-over food into doggy bags to be sent home with guests so that nothing was wasted. As mentioned earlier, weddings are stressful, and mistakes can happen. Everyone is human. Double check the details and if you have questions, always ask. The staff are extremely helpful and quick to come back with information. We highly recommend Little Channels to anyone who asks, and we intend to return to have dinner at the Bistro onsite for our Wedding Anniversary each year to have a moment to re-live our special day.