The Lindley Hall, one of two
Royal Horticultural Halls in Westminster, was designed by
Edwin J Stebbs and constructed in 1904 with arts & crafts and Renaissance details. Stebbs’ focus on achieving as much natural light as possible remains a key character of the building, though complete blackout is also possible. Recently, all 875 metres of original parquet floor were renovated to their former glory, and it is now a thing of beauty. The Wi-Fi system has also been upgraded to accommodate ever increasing demands and ensures 500 users can enjoy uncontended bandwidth with upload and download speeds of up to 200mb.
The Lindley Hall plays host to over twenty different kinds of events each year from conferences to examinations. Organisers love the period details, whilst enjoy the flexibility the venue provides such as trussing for additional sound and lighting, usage of internal ceiling framework for entertainment and clean white walls to allow for projection mapping and the latest audio-visual technology. With a 3-tonne lift and flexible delivery times, the internal team endeavour to make event operations as smooth and stress free as possible.
The Born Free Foundation’s “Beyond the Bars” fundraising event raised more than £100k through ticket sales, donations, a silent auction, and a live auction hosted by TV auctioneer
James Lewis and including lots donated by their patron
Martin Clunes.
The Lindley Hall was chosen because
Born Free wanted a venue with a history and heritage that reflected the theme of its
“Beyond the Bars” campaign, in which the charity returned to its roots to highlight the plight of captive animals worldwide.
Born Free Foundation events manager, Joanne Bartholomew, said: “
It was important to us that we found a venue that was distinguished, yet could feature state-of-the-art imagery to highlight our mission of that the charity is achieving and what we need to achieve in the future to protect wild animals.”
“Beyond the Bars” included a vegetarian menu designed specifically for the event by world-renowned chef
Sriram Aylur, of multi-award winning Michelin star restaurant
Quilon.
Born Free’s co-founders
Virginia McKenna OBE and
Will Travers OBE – as well as
Joanna Lumley OBE – all gave speeches about how Born Free is working to challenge the exploitation of wild animals in captivity.