Tate Britain

Tate Britain occupies the neoclassical building on Millbank that Sidney R. J. Smith designed for Henry Tate's gift to the nation, opened in 1897 on the site of the former Millbank Penitentiary. It holds the national collection of British art from 1500 to the present, and its historic rooms are available for private hire through the Tate Events team, so an event sits within the collection rather than beside it.

The signature space is the Duveen Galleries, the barrel-vaulted stone sculpture halls that run the spine of the building, designed by John Russell Pope and completed in the 1930s. At their centre sits the domed Sackler Octagon. The Duveens hold up to 900 for a reception; the Octagon takes a dinner for 120 and a reception for 300, and joins the adjacent Victorian Gallery 9 for larger gatherings. The Grand Saloon and the contemporary Manton Foyer host dinners and drinks, and the Clore Auditorium seats presentations and screenings.

For a private event the draw is the setting itself: neoclassical architecture, the national collection on the walls, and a riverside address at Millbank. The Tate Events team runs hire end to end and works with a roster of approved caterers and suppliers.