Chester Cathedral

You can seat up to 850 people theatre style, or 504 at round tables, under a medieval nave in the centre of Chester, and add four smaller historic rooms for breakouts, receptions or a green room on the same site. Chester Cathedral, founded as a Benedictine abbey in 1092 and a cathedral since 1541, is a Grade I listed building and a working place of worship on St Werburgh Street, CH1 2DY. Its venue hire team takes bookings for gala dinners, conferences, concerts and receptions on 01244 324 756.

Event spaces and capacities

The cathedral publishes five hireable spaces. The Nave is the largest, at 850 theatre style, 504 at dinner rounds and 49 exhibition tables, and the South Transept next to it can be added when you need more seats: the venue says it is used for extra seating at large Nave concerts. The thirteenth-century Refectory, the former monks’ dining hall, runs as Café 1092 during the day and is offered for evening events of up to 120 diners. The Cloister Room suits a green room, seminar or meeting of up to 50, and the Chapter House, with Gothic vaulting and Jacobean oak flooring, takes up to 108 at long tables or 100 theatre style. No floor areas or standing reception figures are published.

Exhibition tables as published: Nave 49, South Transept 36, Chapter House 21. Capacities as published by the venue on its venue hire page, checked 12 November 2026.

Getting there and parking

Your delegates can reach the cathedral without a car. The venue points rail travellers to Chester station, which has a taxi rank and bus stops for the last part of the journey, and says Chester’s bus exchange, which also links to the city’s park and ride, is a short walk away. For drivers it recommends Delamere Street car park and the New Chester Market car park; it does not publish on-site parking. The nearest Blue Badge parking is on Frodsham Street (CH1 3JJ), and the cathedral says you can reach the building from there without steps. The main entrance is on St Werburgh Street, and guests leave by the same door off the West Cloister.

Catering, AV and accommodation

Holding a dinner in the Refectory puts your guests in the room the cathedral runs by day as Café 1092, which opens Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 4pm and Sunday 11am to 4pm, so evening hire starts after service ends. The café says it sources locally, naming a Flint bakery, Willis the Baker in Saltney, Francis Thomas greengrocers on Northgate Street and Morton’s dairy, and caters for vegan, vegetarian and allergen needs on its afternoon teas. The venue hire page does not say whether event catering is in-house or by approved caterers, and it publishes no AV package or day delegate rate. The cathedral FAQs say it offers free public Wi-Fi with no password. There are no bedrooms on site. On sustainability, the cathedral reports 206 solar panels and a 100% renewable electricity tariff.

On access, the FAQs say the building is mostly accessible, with a step into the Lady Chapel, the Chapter House and the Garth; staff lay ramps on request. Visitors are asked not to eat or drink in the building outside Café 1092, so confirm how this applies to your hire.

What to ask before you book

• Which caterers may serve a Nave dinner for 504, and where do they prepare food, given that the Refectory is a working café until 4pm?
• Can the Nave and South Transept be hired together, and what combined theatre or banquet figure does the venue allow?
• How do services, Choral Evensong and published closure days limit your access times and setup in the Nave?
• Is a ramp needed for each route your guests will use, including into the Chapter House, and who lays it during the event?
• What power, rigging and lighting rules apply in a Grade I listed building, and must AV come from a named supplier?
• Where can exhibitors unload for the 49 Nave exhibition tables, given the venue publishes no on-site parking?

Related on Events Review

• Historic event venues
• Unusual event venues
• Liverpool Cathedral
• Sheffield Cathedral
• Leicester Cathedral
• Manchester Town Hall
• Conference venues in Liverpool
• Conference venues in Manchester
• Choose the venue around the event, not the headline capacity
• Turn venue accessibility claims into a usable event plan

Sources: Chester Cathedral venue hire, Plan your visit, FAQs, Café 1092, Sustainability, checked 12 November 2026.