Historic venues can provide something truly unique for conferences and events. Usually set in spectacular surroundings, the characteristics of a historic venue and the stories behind it will leave delegates with lasting memories long after the event has finished.
The Royal College of Physicians, for example, is over 500 years old and currently in its fifth home since 1965. This iconic grade 1 listed modern building overlooking Regent’s Park houses an award-winning conference and events centre, as well as a medicinal garden for summer entertaining and a museum. All these attributes provide a great backdrop for conferences and events both large and small.
Taking into account feedback from event planners that have held their events at RCP London Events, we’ve put together three reasons why historic venues are great choices for conferences and events.
One of the greatest benefits of hosting events in a historic venue is the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of history. For example, RCP London Events has hosted a whole host of dignitaries throughout its history and movies such as Wonder Woman 1984 and TV programmes including The Crown have been filmed here.
The RCP has a museum onsite housing a rare heritage collection and offers tours and talks to enhance events.
The Dorchester Library in our venue, which can be hired for events of up to 250 people, houses one of the most significant collections of rare books in the world. In the 17th century, the RCP’s library was regarded as the country’s most important library of learning outside Oxford and Cambridge and now provides an enchanting backdrop for modern events. Historic venues, therefore, are great for talking points among delegates.
Aligning a brand with a historic venue, which guests may have heard of, can be a great way to attract delegates to events. Particularly if it is a venue that relates to the theme of your event.
RCP London Events hosts a large number of medical organisations, who choose the venue because of its association with the medical community. In fact, some of our longest-standing medical clients have been bringing their events to the venue for over 10 years. The venue also boasts a medicinal garden that contains over 1,000 plants with links to medicine which is an added benefit for delegates.
Historic venues can provide the perfect backdrop for conferences and events and give attendees great reasons to share pictures from the event, in front of famous paintings or spaces which can then be shared on social media to spread awareness of the event.
Historic venues also provide much food for thought when it comes to inspiration for theming. The pomegranate is used in the RCP’s coat of arms which we believe may refer to the medicinal plants used to treat disease in earlier times. This gave us great inspiration for the RCP’s 500th-anniversary event, where we created special themed pomegranate cocktails.
There is no doubt that historic venues provide something magical, something different and something special for today’s events. In a world where experiences are so important, historic venues are a great choice for creating memorable event experiences.
If you are interested in RCP London Events for your next event, reach out to our award-winning event team: events@rcp.ac.uk
Royal College of Physicians, 11 St Andrews Place
Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4LE
Registered charity no. 210508
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