Groups and Private Tours
Charleston offers group visits and private visits of our House and Galleries at advantageous rates.
Groups of up to 50 people can be accommodated by booking in advance. All House visits are led by our experienced guides outside of public opening hours, while Exhibition visits can take place within our public opening hours. A range of combination visits are offered.
Jump straight to the booking form
House Tour and Exhibition Visit Options
Groups have a range of visit options to choose, with discounted rates for combined House & Gallery visits.
Group rate – £11.50pp (minimum cost £115, maximum 50 visitors)
An excellent introduction, the tour tells the story of Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and their family and friends, from their arrival at the house in 1916 to the foundation of the Charleston Trust in the 1980s. Suitable for groups of up to 50, with tours of up to 10 visitors per guide starting at the same time but from different points in the house.
Group rate – £11.50pp (minimum cost £115, maximum 20 visitors)
Our Queer House Tours offer the chance to discover Charleston’s groundbreaking LGBTQ+ history with an expert guide. Suitable for groups of up to 20, with tours of up to 10 visitors per guide starting at the same time but from different points in the house.
Also available as an extended tour.
Group rate – £15.00pp (minimum cost £150, maximum 20 visitors)
Extended tours begins in the kitchen, not usually visited in our standard tour. Groups over 10 will be split into two groups, with one group starting their tour 20 minutes after the other.
Option 1: The Sisters Tour
This tour examines the lives of the sisters, Vanessa Bell the painter, and Virginia Woolf the writer, who stood at the centre of the Bloomsbury group.
Option 2: A Day in the Life of Charleston
From sunrise to sunset, explore the details of a working day at Charleston. This tour includes a visit to the kitchen where Grace Higgens – Charleston’s housekeeper – would begin her day.
Option 3: Charleston, The Early Years
This tour explores the arrival of Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and their unusual household at Charleston in 1916. Journey through the trials and triumphs of life at Charleston during World War I.
Option 4: The Queer House Tour
This tour explores Charleston’s groundbreaking LGBTQ+ history. Join us to discover the queer stories behind Charleston, its objects and the fascinating lives of its inhabitants.
Group rate – £5.50pp (minimum cost £55, maximum 50 visitors)
Enjoy admission to our Exhibitions at a group concession rate. Groups over 25 will have a short staggered entry in order to ensure adequate space for visitors within the exhibitions.
Group rate – £11.50pp (minimum cost £115, maximum 50 visitors)
Enjoy an expert 30-minute introduction to our Exhibitions from a Charleston Guide, and then take pleasure in unlimited time in the exhibitions. The talk will take place in our newly restored Barns.
Group rate – £15.50pp (minimum cost £155, maximum 50 visitors)
Enjoy a one-hour tour of the House with a Charleston Guide followed by admission to our Exhibitions which you will be able to explore at leisure.
Group rate – £21.00pp (minimum cost £210, maximum 50 visitors)
Upon arrival enjoy a one-hour House Tour with a Charleston Guide. Follow your House Tour with an expert 30-minute introduction to our Exhibitions from a Charleston Guide, and then take pleasure in unlimited time in the exhibition itself. The talk will take place in our newly restored Barns.
Refreshments
We can provide your group with light refreshments, which must be booked in advance for the whole group.
Refreshments will usually be served in The Threshing Barn, Charleston’s new café.
We are unable to cater for group lunches, but are able to recommend local pubs that are happy to cater for lunch for groups of any size visiting Charleston.
Refreshments
All catering must be booked in advance for the whole group |
Price per person
|
| Tea, Coffee and Biscuits (up to 50) |
£3.00 |
| Tea, Coffee and Cake or Pastries (up to 30) |
£6.00 |
Also included in your visit
The Charleston Garden
The Garden provided the space and freedom for Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant to develop the lifestyle they enjoyed at Charleston. They carefully selected the plants to provide the colour and shape for their work. Today it is with reference to Bell and Grant’s paintings that our Head Gardener ensures the Garden remains as beautiful and as ‘painterly’ as it was in its heyday. Groups visiting the House or Galleries are free to explore the Garden at their own pace. Garden only visits are also available.
The Charleston Shops
A destination in its own right, the Charleston Shop stocks an extensive range of Bloomsbury-inspired books, cards, hand crafted ceramics, lamps, fabrics designed by Duncan Grant, and much more.
The Gallery Shop (within our Gallery spaces) holds a range of exhibition-specific items, including catalogues, notebooks, postcards and tote bags.
Additional Options
£200 per group (maximum 50 visitors)
Gain a privileged insight into the exhibition with Dr Darren Clarke, Charleston’s Rausing Head of Collections, Exhibitions and Research. The talk will take place in our newly restored Barns, subject to availability.
Charleston works regularly with artists to put on a range of creative workshops. See our events programme for upcoming workshops at Charleston for a sense of the kind of workshops we run. It may be possible to book something similar for your group; please
get in touch if you are interested in finding out more.
Charleston offers this exclusive group visit in partnership with Farleys House and Gallery. A full day of exciting and personal insights into the lives, art and homes of the Bloomsbury group at Charleston and the Surrealists at Farleys. Between the two houses a magnificent picture of almost a century of British modern art is conjured up. Lunch at the nearby Cricketers’ Arms in Berwick completes the package.
For more information and to book – visit Farleys House and Gallery website.
Further Details
- Wednesday – Sunday : House visits take place prior to 11:00am (depending on group size and availability). Exhibition visits can take place within public Gallery opening times (10am – 5pm).
- Monday and Tuesday : Bespoke visits, subject to £100 private opening fee and availability.
If you choose refreshments, we recommend arrival 30 minutes prior to your House tour. If you do not choose refreshments, arrival should be 15 minutes prior to your tour time.
There is free parking for coaches on site in our main car park.
We welcome visitors with access needs but for group visits it is very helpful for us to know in advance of any requirements so we can help ensure all visitors have the best possible experience. Access information can be found at the bottom of our visitor information page here.
How to Book
All groups must book their visits in advance.
Availability for groups is limited and so we advise you to get in touch early to avoid disappointment. We may be able to accept group bookings at shorter notice, but this cannot be guaranteed.
To book a group visit to Charleston please complete the enquiry form below.
- Charleston will confirm receipt of your enquiry form, and provisional reservation of tours, services, date and time.
- We will issue you a deposit invoice and booking confirmation form. All visits are provisional until the deposit and completed confirmation form are received by Charleston; this must be by one month prior to the visit date. The deposit required is the minimum cost of your visit options (eg, House Tour – deposit required of £115.00). The deposit is non-refundable and non-transferable.
- We ask you to notify us of any changes in numbers two weeks prior to visit date, after which no changes can be made. Final numbers must include the group leader and coach driver if they intend to join the tour.
- Your final balance invoice is then issued, and is payable up to and including the day of your visit.
Option
|
Price per person
|
Deposit required (minimum cost of visit)
|
| The Charleston House Tour (60 minutes) |
£11.50 |
£115.00 |
| Extended Tours (up to 20 persons, 80 minutes) |
£15.00 |
£150.00 |
| Exhibitions Entry |
£5.50 |
£55.00 |
| House Tour & Exhibitions Entry |
£15.50 |
£155.00 |
| House Tour, Exhibitions Entry & Introductory Talk |
£21.00 |
£210.00 |
| Monday / Tuesday private opening fee |
– |
£100.00 |
| Curator’s Talk |
– |
£200.00 |
| Garden Entry (if not visiting House or Exhibitions) |
£4.50 |
£45.00 |
| Refreshments – Tea, Coffee & Biscuits |
£3.00 |
£30.00 |
| Refreshments – Tea, Coffee & Cake or Pastries |
£6.00 |
£60.00 |
Please complete and submit online here, return to us by post or email (groups@charleston.org.uk) or call us to discuss a visit on 01323 811 626.
31 JulMusic