Important Messages
Opening hours
Our Halstead branch will be closed on Tuesday 29 April for a community volunteering day. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Members' Month Tea Party FAQ's
We’re delighted you are coming to our Saffron Tea party at Down Hall on 25 June. We understand that you may have some questions about what to expect on the day, we have tried to cover these below. We hope you find the information useful.
If you need to contact us on the day, our event manager Ella will be contactable on 07808 789689.
We hope you have a wonderful time!
Frequently Asked Questions
The Saffron Tea Party is a chance for you to enjoy an afternoon tea with us and hear from our celebrity speaker Angela Rippon. Each sitting of the tea party (morning and afternoon) will have approximately 180 guests in attendance. The tea party starts and finishes at the times provided in your confirmation email. Each guest will be assigned to a table. Shortly after the given start time, time tea will be served to the tables and Angela’s speech will follow. Afterwards you’ll have the opportunity for a photo with Angela and to speak to the Saffron team.
The event is at Down Hall Hotel, Spa and Estate, Matching Road, Hatfield Heath, Essex, CM22 7AS. As you get closer to Down Hall the roads get windy and more remote, but you should see signs for it. Please follow these signs. You may find this link to google maps useful.
As per your confirmation email, the event is approximately 2 hours long.
Please telephone our call centre on 0800 072 1100 to let us know, so that we can try and allocate your place(s) to someone else. Please visit the Contact Us page of our web site to find out our opening hours.
We will have event staff in place to help with parking. However, it is worth knowing that there are two car parks at Down Hall - one on the right as you approach the hall from the drive, and another to the left. If you are coming with a guest and one of you has accessibility needs, we suggest you park in the car park to the right as it is closer to the entrance of the hall. If it is full, then instead drop them at the front door and the driver should take the car around to the overflow car park, to the left.
As above, the overflow car park to the left of the hall is several hundred metres from the entrance so please follow the advice above if you or your guest has difficulty walking.
Yes there is, it is a separate entrance close to the main one. On arrival, please ask our event staff to assist you with entering the building.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a hearing loop available at the venue. But, if you contact us via our call centre on 0800 072 1100 before the event we can try and ensure you are seated near the speaker system. Please visit the Contact Us page of our web site to find out our opening hours.
There is no dress code, but we suggest smart casual.
If you arrive early, you will be able to wait in the gardens of Down Hall, and there will be event staff to show you how to find those. If you arrive late, our events team will be there to greet you and show you to your table. You may miss some of the food and drink which will be served at the beginning of the event.
We are offering a variation on afternoon tea. In the morning, we will be serving tea, coffee, cakes and pastries. In the afternoon we will have the same, with the addition of sandwiches.
The dietary information you submitted in your entry to the prize draw has supplied to Down Hall. Seating is being allocated accordingly to help ensure dietary requirements are catered for.
We kindly ask for no filming. Out of respect for our speaker and other guests, we ask that you refrain from taking photographs until after the speaker has finished, and you are invited to do so. There is time set aside for this for you to have something to remember the day by!
Yes, that would be fantastic, please tag us @Saffronbuildingsociety when you do so!
Yes, we will be filming it for promotional purposes. Should you not wish to appear in the images, please make a member of the event team aware.
Mobile phones are allowed, but out of respect for or speaker and other guests please turn these off or onto silent mode for the duration of the event.
No, the event is not ticketed. The phone call or email from us confirming your place, is enough. We will be signing everyone in at the event according to our guest list.
Yes - the room the tea party will be held in has air conditioning