Trades Hall of Glasgow

You can hold a conference of up to 250 people theatre style in a historic Merchant City hall, and then move to smaller rooms for breakouts and dinner without leaving the building. Six rooms take from 2 to 250 guests, the venue publishes a day delegate rate from £24.50 a head, and Glasgow Queen Street station is the nearest railway station. Trades Hall at 85 Glassford Street is the home of The Trades House of Glasgow, a charity that dates from 1605, and the venue says part of every booking goes to charitable causes in Glasgow.

Event spaces and capacities

You get six bookable spaces, and the venue says the rooms are reached by stairs or a lift. The largest is the Grand Hall, 210 m² under a seven metre dome, which seats 250 theatre style or 180 for dinner and holds 250 for a standing reception. The Saloon next door suits a drinks reception before a Grand Hall dinner, and the Robert Adam Room has a bar area if you need one. The Reception Room has a ceiling mounted projector and works for exhibitions and seminars of up to 80 seated. The North and South Galleries on the second floor are matching rooms of 46 m² each for breakouts and small meetings, and the venue says the South Gallery can be combined with its Craftsmen’s Gallery museum for a drinks reception. The venue does not publish a separate exhibition floor area or cabaret capacities.

Capacities as published by the venue on its rooms page and in its corporate brochure, all given as “up to” figures, checked 5 November 2026.

Getting there and parking

Your delegates can arrive by train without a taxi. The venue names Glasgow Queen Street as the closest railway station, reached on foot via George Square, Frederick Street and Ingram Street. It puts Glasgow Central station and St Enoch subway station each about ten minutes’ walk away. Drivers leave the M8 at junction 15 and follow Castle Street, High Street and Ingram Street to Glassford Street. The venue has no car park of its own, but its brochure gives a promotional code for 24 hours at the NCP Glasshouse car park for £7.95, booked through the NCP app. The venue does not publish airport, coach or loading bay details.

Catering, AV and accommodation

You can cost a day meeting before you call. Food comes from two partner caterers, Regis Banqueting and Top Class Catering, and the venue says it will work with other caterers on conditions. Top Class Catering’s day delegate rate starts at £24.50 a person, excluding room hire, for at least 40 people; the brochure lists tea, coffee, orange juice and biscuits three times, a finger buffet lunch, table coverings, staff, water, notepads, pens and AV support. The in-house kit includes fibre broadband, HDMI and VGA connections, integrated microphones, a 12ft Fasfold screen, an ultra short throw projector, a truss lectern, 65 inch repeater screens and a Bluetooth sound system. Rooms have daylight and air conditioning. There are no bedrooms, but the venue lists discounts for its guests at The Spires serviced apartments next door, Hotel Indigo Glasgow, Ibis Styles Glasgow Central and Mercure Glasgow. The venue says it uses energy efficient lighting, waste reduction and water saving measures; it does not name a sustainability certificate.

Access

The venue lists stairs or a lift for its rooms, with accessible toilets on the ground and first floors. The Grand Hall and the Saloon have hearing loops, and the rooms page adds one in the South Gallery. The brochure lists wheelchair refuge points on the ground, first and second floors.

What to ask before you book

• The Grand Hall takes 250 theatre style but 180 for dinner: if your conference ends with a dinner for more than 180, ask whether the Saloon or Robert Adam Room can take an overflow and how the room turn is handled.
• The Robert Adam Room is split into a lower section with 2.8m headroom and an upper section with 2.18m: ask which section a projector screen and the bar sit in before you plan sightlines.
• The £24.50 day delegate rate excludes room hire and needs 40 people: ask for the room hire charge for your chosen rooms and the Regis Banqueting price for comparison.
• The partner hotel page is headed 2024: check that the hotel discounts and codes still apply on your dates.
• Ask whether exclusive use of the whole building is available for a corporate event; the published exclusive use prices are for weddings only.
• The rooms page and brochure differ on the toilets near the Robert Adam Room and the sound system in the Reception Room: confirm both for your delegates.

Related on Events Review

• Conference venues in Glasgow
• Historic event venues
• The Merchants House of Glasgow
• Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
• University of Glasgow Conferences and Events
• Technology and Innovation Centre, University of Strathclyde
• Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
• Scottish Event Campus
• Surgeons Quarter, Edinburgh
• Choose the venue around the event, not the headline capacity
• Turn venue accessibility claims into a usable event plan
• Glasgow’s new air routes still need checking against your event dates

Sources: rooms, corporate hire, corporate brochure, packages, partner hotels and home page on tradeshallglasgow.co.uk, checked 5 November 2026.