Inside the Holy Ghost, Basingstoke.

The Holy Ghost Church, Basingstoke

The Holy Ghost Church in Basingstoke is awesome. Which feels like a strange word to use for a church- but I really was surprised by it’s grandeur. It is a hidden gem of Basingstoke. As you can see from the photograph above, the Church is lined with paintings and a splashing of gold (I know I should show this photograph in colour, but to contradict myself slightly, I prefer black and white to colour!)

The Ruins of the Holy Ghost

The Church also has the ruins of an old monastery within walking distance. Ruins – because Henry the VIII had his way with it – despite Henry, these ruins make a great photographic location.

Now, if you are wondering why there are no photographs of the ruins it’s entirely due to the unpredictable nature of public areas. In this case the ruins had become the playground of parkour/free runners. With numerous people jumping and diving around, we all decided it was best to head off to the reception venue.

Evening Reception

The Wellington Arms Hotel was the venue for the evening celebration.  This hotel is located (as the name hints) by Stratfield Saye, the home of the late Duke of Wellington (of Waterloo fame). If you look below, you’ll  notice a photograph of one of the entrance gates.

Internally the Hotel is split in two, the left side is a effectively a nice country pub and to the right consists of the Hampshire Suite which can fit approximately one hundred guests. There is another smaller room for around 30 guests, but I have yet to encounter this.

Outdoor photography opportunities

As far as photography goes the Hotel offers a medium sized un-landscaped garden to the rear. I always argue, all I need to take good photographs is a field full of people; however that scenario doesn’t always work. In this case, the grassed area is a little cut off. There is no seating or proximity to a bar, thus there is little reason for guests to naturally mingle there.  There is a small patio to the side, which fills both of these criteria, but the potential of the rear garden is unfortunately lost.

With these reviews, I  jump from a general perspective to a photographers perspective. Just above I talked about the lack of “outdoor investment”, which I suppose is my view as a photographer. However there are many venues in Hampshire which suffer from the same lack of landscaping, and frankly, especially in the winter – it doesn’t matter.

The Wellington Arms makes up for this by being a very warm and comfortable venue with excellent food – which brides, grooms, wedding guests and everyone who isn’t a photographer will probably find more important!

Further information

These wedding venue reviews could easily run for pages, so what you read here is condensed information of my opinions. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to post a comment below. Or to ask the Wellington Arms directly, visit their website: Weddings at The Wellington Arms Hotel.