RSA House Archives

A taste of Harbour & Jones Events at RSA House

Posted on: April 24th, 2015 by chandco

We were delighted to welcome more than 60 event organisers to RSA House last night (23 April) for a one-stop experiential venue tour of some of London’s most iconic event spaces.

A taste of Harbour & Jones Events gave guests a chance to explore eight venues including Prince Philip House, Cutty Sark, Borough Market and 41 Portland Place all under one roof, and to discover what’s new in event catering, food trends and concepts.

Guests from Brand Rapport, PWC, EMAP and UBS arrived to a drinks reception and canapés including marinated tiger prawns with a sherry vinegar & chorizo pipette, and heritage tomato ceviche, before taking their seats with gourmet popcorn in the Durham Street Auditorium for a series of virtual video tours through each of the venues.

Following the presentations, the RSA House team opened the atmospheric Vaults event spaces to reveal interactive global food stalls. A Northern European stall showcased the finest cured meats, British cheeses and picnic-style bites, while a taste of the Far East highlighted the hot trend of Korean BBQ and Ho-Bang steamed buns. The Southern States themed stall proved a huge hit, confirming that pulled pork buns and buttermilk fried chicken are trends that show no sign of disappearing any time soon.

To top the night off, RSA House head chef, Darren Archer revealed a huge pudding wall filled with bite sized puddings including mini brownies, Turkish delight and coconut ice. And guests gathered for a prize draw that included tickets for The O2 and the Science Museum, and afternoon tea at St Paul’s Cathedral.

Guests took to the interactive Twitter wall, posting photos and comments throughout the night, and drinks flowed from the bespoke mirrored bar created by Light Motif.

Susan Morrissey, Venue Sales Director of Harbour & Jones Events, commented: “Event bookers are busy people, and site visits can knock a whole day out of the diary. We wanted to bring our venues together under one roof, along with our latest menu concepts to give our guests the full venue visit experience in a snapshot of time”.

We recently announced listings at seven new venues including the Science Museum, The O2, Madame Tussauds and Trinity House, and we now have 23 venues in our ever-growing collection.

Head over to our Facebook page for photos from the evening.

Get in touch to find out more about our venues and see how we can make your next event one to remember.

Save the date: RSA House wedding open day

Posted on: April 9th, 2015 by chandco

If you’ve ever planned a wedding you’ll know how much time, effort and emotion goes into getting everything ‘just right’. From the big decisions to the finishing touches, it’s no mean feat.

On Saturday 18 April, our team at RSA House will be throwing open the doors to brides-to-be for an exclusive wedding open day. Take in the stunning surroundings of the house and meet the team behind some of London’s most memorable weddings.

Contact Nikki to book your place – [email protected]

Photo credit: Fiona Kelly Photography. Read more – head over to the inspirational wedding blog Smashing the Glass.

RSA House hosts A Night With Nu Bride

Posted on: February 18th, 2015 by chandco

It was a celebration of love at RSA House as Valentine’s Day approached last week. On Tuesday 10 February, the team welcomed wedding planners, journalists and stylish brides-and-grooms-to-be to an inspiring event to celebrate the award-winning wedding blog Nu Bride.

As guests arrived and the band started to play, the Benjamin Franklin room took centre stage following a styling transformation by Jemma-Jade Events. Softly lit with bespoke Nu Bride projections and storm lanterns casting delicate shadows in the corners of the room, the striking floral displays provided a stunning focus point, reaching right up towards the ceiling. An original illustration by Crisi Miki Wiki, showcasing diverse stylish brides was a talking point for designers, stylists and brides alike.

The RSA House weddings team created a tailored , for the evening, featuring Gruyere & truffle tartlets, black pepper macaroons filled with Severn Wye smoked salmon & soft herb cream, and show stopping lime meringue topped mango & passion fruit indulgences. Elizabeth’s Cake Emporium was on hand with an impressive display of tiered wedding cakes, cake pops and delicious cupcakes too.

Nova Reid, founder of Nu Bride, gave a heartfelt speech about her experience as a bride-to-be. She spoke passionately about the wedding industry and her recent Wedding Blog Award, and guests shared their photos and comments using the RSA House interactive Twitter wall. You can see how the night unfolded via #ANightWithNuBride and the atmospheric video created by Urban Cinematography.

The RSA House team is hosting a wedding open day on Saturday 28 February. To book your place, contact Elise on 0207 451 6809, or [email protected]

With huge thanks to plenty to declare wedding photography

Win dinner for 8: Join us at The BNC Global Event Show

Posted on: February 16th, 2015 by chandco

Visit our Harbour & Jones Events stand 137 at the BNC Global Event Show on 18th February at The Brewery to hear about our exclusive summer event packages, and you could be in with another chance to win dinner for 8 cooked by a private chef in your home*

Our competition to win dinner for 8 received so much attention at the London Summer Event Show that we’ve decided to run it again, this time for one lucky visitor at The BNC show.

Showcasing as part of the Harbour & Jones Events venue collection is 41 Portland Place, Borough Market and RSA House alongside Prince Philip House, Cutty Sark and St Paul’s Cathedral.

We hope you can join us!

*address must be within the M25, includes 3-courses with half a bottle of wine per person and excludes bank holidays

Harbour & Jones Events boosts Sales & Marketing team with three new recruits

Posted on: January 12th, 2015 by chandco

Lucy Mears, Alex Campbell and Rebecca Hawkes have joined Harbour & Jones Events as Sales & Marketing Managers.

Lucy Mears joins the central sales team from Payne + Gunter, bringing a wealth of experience spanning supplier, buyer and agency roles. Lucy will work across the entire Harbour & Jones Events collection including St Paul’s Cathedral and Cutty Sark, as well as the three new venues gained at the end of 2014: Borough Market, RIBA and Church House Conference Centre.

Alex Campbell joins RSA House following a three-year stint at food by dish. With an impressive track record of driving sales and exceeding targets across extensive venue portfolios, Alex will focus on growing sales and nurturing the sales and marketing team.

Prince Philip House welcomes Rebecca Hawkes following the departure of Becci Thomson to the O2. Joining from Gibson Hall, Rebecca’s background in special events and business development will enable her to strengthen existing relationships while attracting new clients.

Susan Morrissey, Venue Sales Director said: “This is an exciting time for Harbour & Jones Events and I’m delighted to have such experienced and dynamic people joining us. We’ve enjoyed a fantastic year of growth and expansion, and now we’re strengthening our sales team with best-in-class events professionals to take us forward in to 2015.”

We’re busy working on our new summer event packages, which we’ll be launching at The London Summer Event Show on 27 & 28 January. Register here to attend, and if you visit our stand on 28 January you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win an exclusive Harbour & Jones Events dinner for up to 8 people at your own home!

We’ll be sending out more information about our new team and this fantastic prize in our newsletter, so don’t miss out and sign up!

Festive fun as white Christmas takes gold at RSA House

Posted on: December 19th, 2014 by chandco

What do you get if you cross an £8 budget with 180 metres of tin foil, years worth of repurposed event decorations and a brand new events team? It’s ok, it’s not a bad cracker joke; it’s the winners of the annual Royal Society of Art Christmas decorating competition.

Our Harbour & Jones Events team at RSA House were looking for ways to raise their profile and get to know colleagues around the venue. What better way to get involved than by transforming the events office at RSA House, home to enlightened thinking, into a winter wonderland?

Every day, the team came together for ‘power half-hour’, adding decorations and displays to the space. It started with a computer screen being given the gift of wrapping and snowballed from there.

RSA House has seen it’s busiest Christmas to date this year, with award-winning restaurant The Vaults hosting 50 covers at lunch throughout December and back-to-back events across the venue.

Alex Campbell, Sales & Marketing Manager was really pleased with the teams efforts ‘It’s been really great to meet everyone and join in the festive spirit of the RSA. Business is booming and we’re all rushed off our feet, so it’s nice to be able to give something back to the team – a bit of fun goes a long way.’

Other efforts from around the offices included a handmade nativity scene, festive origami and a Christmas tree made entirely from books. But our team literally whitewashed the competition to take first place. The prize? Fame and glory, of course.

Double delight at the Event 100 Club big reveal!

Posted on: December 12th, 2014 by chandco

This week we joined Event Magazine’s elite Event 100 Club 2015, not once, but twice, as two members of our fabulous team were named amongst the most influential people in the events industry.

Our Creative Director, Jules Heckman Hughes, and General Manager at RSA House, Katy Hadcroft joined over 250 industry friends and colleagues for the Event 100 Club big reveal party, to find out who secured a much-coveted place on the prestigious list of just 100 names.

Jules is no stranger to the club, having also been recognised last year for her continued outstanding contribution to the events industry, but this is Katy’s first year on the list, acknowledged for her exceptional leadership and direction of RSA House, our magnificent venue located just off the Strand.

This is the icing on the cake for Harbour & Jones Events after being named Event Magazine’s Caterer of the Year, and to have our people recognised like this is a truly tremendous honour.

Congratulations Jules & Katy – we couldn’t be more thrilled!

Read more about the Event 100 Club, and the names to look out for in 2015.

Exclusive historic sundown tour of RSA House reveals some of London’s best-kept secrets

Posted on: October 31st, 2014 by chandco

On Wednesday 29 October at 5pm prompt, a select group of industry invitees including guests from PWC and Marie Curie Cancer Care eagerly gathered at RSA House for an exclusive guided tour through some of the most unique event spaces in the city.

This is the first time that The House, designed by Robert Adam in the early 1770s, has opened its doors for a tour of this kind, with some of the more concealed spaces being London event bookers’ best-kept secrets to date.

The evening opened in the impressive Benjamin Franklin Room with nibbles and drinks from Event Magazine’s Caterer of the Year Harbour & Jones Events, and was followed by a theatrical overview of the history of RSA House starting in The Great Room. This spectacular space is dominated by the famous and imposing series of paintings ‘Progress of Human Knowledge and Culture’ by James Barry.

Moving through to the Durham Street Auditorium, which is built over one of London’s old Roman roads that used to link the Strand to the Thames, guests enjoyed gourmet popcorn whilst hearing about how the road has been preserved as a key feature running strikingly through the 60-seat auditorium.

Glasses refreshed, and nibbles nibbled, guests moved through to the Vaults. Originally designed as riverfront warehouses, these fully restored brick built spaces are now home to award-winning restaurant The Vaults. Brickwork has been sandblasted and sealed to create a powerful yet intimate space, which is also used today for conferences, press launches and weddings.

To round off the evening, guests came together to sample fine dining canapés and a spectacular pudding wall in the Tavern Room, which used to be a public house frequented by Charles Dickens and is in fact mentioned in the Pickwick Papers.

Katy Hadcroft, General Manager at RSA House said ‘’it was wonderful to be able to share the rich history of RSA House with such a captivated audience. The event spaces here are so unique and we’re proud to be able to offer event bookers such an extraordinary venue in a prime location.’

Situated just off the Strand in central London, the House team provides a bespoke service to clients. Whether it’s a conference for 200, location filming, product launches, press events, boardroom meetings, wedding ceremonies, receptions or parties, they deliver the very best in hospitality.

Exclusive historic tours are being offered to event bookers throughout November at RSA House. Contact the House team on 020 7930 5115 to plan your visit.

Two awards won at this year’s MIMA!

Posted on: October 22nd, 2014 by chandco

October has been a great month. Hot on the heels of winning Event Caterer of the Year came another successful evening, this time at the Meetings Industry Marketing Awards (MIMA) which took place at the Lancaster Hotel on Monday 20th October. Up against the industry’s top marketing minds, we were delighted to have been singled out for two awards for our Save the Orchards campaign; gold for Best Use of Budget and bronze for Best Live Marketing Event, for the campaign launch party held at RSA House last year. Huge congratulations to all the teams involved and keep saving those orchards!

Harbour & Jones Events named Event Caterer of the Year

Posted on: October 6th, 2014 by chandco

We are utterly delighted to have won the prestigious Event Caterer of the Year gong at the 2014 Event Awards, held at the supercool Troxy on October 2nd. The art deco-style theatre played host to a glittering 1920s themed evening, complete with flapper girls, sharp suits and a swing dance group.

The Harbour & Jones Events team glammed up and joined more than 700 event professionals who packed the venue to cheer on their teams. And we had plenty to shout about as first we were announced as Event Caterer of the Year and then the RSA House was Highly Commended in the Event Space of the Year category.

Nathan Jones, Director of Harbour & Jones Events echoed the sentiments of the whole team; “This has been a fabulous night for Harbour & Jones Events. To be recognised by your industry is very rewarding and my congratulations go out to the whole of our hardworking, creative and dedicated team.”

Great food and plenty of dancing rounded off an exceptional night.

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