One of the largest and most prestigious wedding and events venue will not be taking any bookings for 2024.

Wherstead Park will be hosting world renowned classical artist Christina Johnson from Felixstowe this weekend, and honour all its summer and Christmas events before ending its hospitality sector.

The Grade II listed Georgian mansion in Wherstead, owned by the East of England Cop-op, has put on a wide range of conferences and events, inside and out on its lawns.

It was the home for the election count for Babergh and Mid Suffolk for the past two elections, and was also used for the Suffolk County Council count.

Numerous awards events, concerts, wedding receptions open air markets and fares, have been put on and it is a well known film location pushed by Screen Suffolk.

The closure was confirmed in a statement by East of England Co-op chief executive Doug Field OBE. 

He said: "We're proposing to close our Events and Conferencing business, based at Wherstead Park in Ipswich. With a full calendar of events for 2023, the business will continue to operate until the end of the year.  

"This is in no way a reflection of the hard work of our events team, who have worked tirelessly to build a vibrant events programme and to deliver high-quality, memorable events for their clients. 

"This decision has been made as part of a review on how we use Wherstead Park, with its future, we believe, laying outside of events and conferencing." 

Opera in the Park, this weekend...