Marquee Weekend Hire
The marquee is the centrepiece of the yard and the piece that needs the most preparation. Our
Marquee Weekend Hire service covers a framed structure in a span that suits your guest count,
delivered with roofs, side walls, clear gables, ground bars and the anchors suited to the surface
it stands on. We do not drop a marquee and drive away: the crew positions it, levels it, sets the
walls where you want the openings and walks you through the door arrangement before leaving.
Weekend hire follows a simple shape. The structure arrives on Friday, stands for the event itself
and is struck on Monday, which gives you time to dress the space without a rushed turnaround. For
sites with tight access, sloping ground or a farm track, we visit first and write the plan down
before the run is booked. The marquee is stored dry under cover at the mill, checked for worn
joints and split panels, and repaired in the yard rather than replaced with something borrowed
at the last minute.
Trestle and Chair Sets
Tables and seating are supplied as counted sets rather than loose piles, because counting is what
keeps a weekend hire calm. The Trestle and Chair Sets service offers folding trestles in the usual
lengths, bench seating for long shared tables, plastic chairs for outdoor use and timber chairs
for indoor setups, with linen covers available for the trestles. A set of twelve trestles and
sixty chairs is tagged as one line, loaded as one line and counted back in as one line.
We plan layouts with you when the numbers are awkward. Long banqueting rows suit a marquee with a
central aisle, while clustered round tables work better in a village hall with low beams. Whatever
the pattern, the set is built to match the layout you have sketched, and we will adjust quantities
up or down until the plan is comfortable rather than merely full. Chairs and trestles are wiped
down after every return, and damaged timber is taken out of circulation at the bench.
Festival Stage Kits
Festival Stage Kits are modular staging for village bands, ceilidhs, school shows, spoken word
tents and community concerts. A typical kit includes 2m by 1m decks on adjustable legs in 400mm,
600mm and 800mm heights, guard rails, steps and a simple weather roof. The kit is deliberately
built so it can be assembled by organisers who have never put a stage up before, with written
assembly notes, numbered parts and a phone number to call if the plan stops making sense.
We size stage kits to the act rather than to ambition. A three-piece folk band needs a different
footprint from a ceilidh caller with a caller table and a monitor position, and both need enough
depth to stand safely. If your site is a field with soft ground, the legs are fitted with spread
plates and the roof is tied down properly. Delivery, positioning and strike can all be handled by
our run crew, so the stage arrives flat, stands true and leaves without blocking the car park.
Heater and Light Packs
Evenings in Cumbria close in early, and a marquee without warmth and light stops being useful the
moment the sun goes behind the fell. Heater and Light Packs pair indirect heaters with a
distribution board, properly rated cable runs and warm-white light bars that can be hung from the
marquee frame or set on stands. Packs are stocked in sizes that match our marquee spans, so the
heating and lighting load is balanced against what the site supply can actually carry.
Every pack is tested on the bench at Clint Mill before loading. Cables are inspected, lamps are
checked for dull tubes and loose fittings, and heaters are cleaned and run for a cycle. The crew
positions lights for the room rather than for the photograph, avoiding hard shadows across the
tables and keeping the doorways bright. If your event runs late or the weather turns wet, we can
add a pack to an existing booking where the stock allows.
Wedding Package Builds
Wedding Package Builds treat the day as three connected rooms rather than one decorated space.
The ceremony needs a clear focal point, the drinks hour needs standing space and shelter, and the
meal needs seating that fits the menu and the table plan. We sketch all three on the booking slate
at the yard, then build one kit list that allows the room to change over without a second delivery
or a scramble between courses.
A build typically draws on the marquee, trestle and chair, lighting and delivery services together,
with linen, glassware crates and service trays added where they make the day easier. You are
welcome to visit the mill to see the actual trestles, chairs and lighting before committing, and
we encourage it: colours and finishes look different under a marquee roof than they do on a
screen. The package is written plainly, with each element listed and any optional extra priced
separately.
Delivery and Strike Runs
Every other service depends on this one. Delivery and Strike Runs cover timed drops, positioning
on site, collection windows and the paperwork that proves what left the yard and what came back.
Runs are planned around the realities of the county: narrow lanes, weight-restricted bridges, farm
gates, gravel drives and venues with a single loading door. We ask for access details at the
quoting stage so the route and the vehicle are chosen before the day, not during it.
Where you prefer to collect, the yard at Clint Mill is open by appointment and the crew will help
you load. Where you would rather we handle it, we deliver inside an agreed window, place the kit
where it will be used and take away the wrapping. Strike follows the same discipline in reverse:
the crew counts against the tag, checks for damage in front of you where possible and leaves the
site clear. Van runs cover Penrith, Carlisle, Keswick, Appleby, Kendal and the fell villages
between them.