Historic event venues
Listed and historic buildings that host conferences, receptions and dinners, profiled from each venue's own published information.
The 82 venues listed here are in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh and other UK cities. Profiles were last checked between 7 and 14 November 2026. Historic event venues in Bristol · Historic event venues in London · Historic event venues in Oxford · Historic event venues in York.
Venues
Brighton Dome
You can seat up to 1,700 delegates in the Concert Hall and run your exhibition in the 780 m² Corn Exchange next door, a 10-minute walk from Brighton station. Up to 1,700 · 6 spaces
Aberdeen Performing Arts
You can hire 11 spaces across three Aberdeen city-centre venues through one team, from a 14-seat boardroom to a 1,491-seat theatre, all within 10 minutes' walk of the station. Up to 1,491 · 11 spaces
Albert Hall Conference Centre
Run a conference for up to 750 delegates in a 1907 Great Hall, with 11 rooms in all for breakouts and dining under one roof, a 6-minute walk from Nottingham's Royal Centre tram stop. Up to 750 · 11 spaces
Ashmolean Museum
You can host from an 18-seat board meeting to an 800-guest reception across the galleries, a 5 to 10 minute walk from Oxford station, with two approved caterers. Up to 800 · 8 spaces
Bar Convent
You can hire three meeting rooms for up to 60 people theatre style, a short walk from York station, from £35 an hour, with in-house catering and a guest house on site. Up to 60 · 3 spaces
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
You can hold an evening reception or dinner for 50 to 200 guests in Victorian galleries on Chamberlain Square, about 10 minutes' walk from New Street and Snow Hill stations. Up to 200 · 3 spaces
Bournemouth Pavilion
You can seat up to 1,432 delegates in a Grade II listed 1929 theatre and hold dinners for up to 500 in the ballroom behind it, with 185 car park spaces around the building. Up to 1,432
Bristol Beacon
You can seat up to 1,650 delegates in Beacon Hall and take up to 60 exhibitors in Bridgehouse, 1.6km from Bristol Temple Meads, with AV and an event coordinator included in conference packages. Up to 1,650 · 8 spaces
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
You get exclusive evening use of two glass-roofed Edwardian halls for up to 400 standing or 240 seated, with Monday day conferences from £67 plus VAT per delegate. Up to 400
Bristol Zoo Project
Hold a meeting for up to 40 people with free parking, WiFi and optional zoo access, 150 metres off the M5 at junction 17, in four spaces at Bristol Zoo Project. Up to 40 · 4 spaces
Cardiff Castle
You can host up to 100 guests for dinner inside Cardiff Castle, in the Banqueting Hall or the vaulted Undercroft, with Cardiff Central and Queen Street stations within walking distance and hourly hire rates published. Up to 120 · 3 spaces
Chester Cathedral
Seat up to 850 theatre style or 504 at round tables in Chester Cathedral's medieval nave, with four smaller historic rooms on the same site for breakouts and receptions. Up to 850 · 5 spaces
Chicheley Hall
You can seat up to 104 delegates theatre style in a Grade I listed house on 80 acres, five minutes' drive from the M1, with free Wi-Fi and 48 bedrooms on site. Up to 104 · 9 spaces · 48 bedrooms
Chilworth Manor Hotel
Chilworth Manor Hotel, an Edwardian manor near M3 junction 14, has ten meeting rooms seating up to 150 theatre style and 250 free parking spaces. Up to 150 · 10 spaces
Church House Westminster
You can run a 600-seat theatre-style conference or a 372-cover dinner under the Assembly Hall dome, with breakouts in the same building and St James's Park station five minutes away. Up to 600 · 19 spaces
Coombe Abbey Hotel
Keep a residential conference on one estate, with 11 meeting spaces, 121 bedrooms and day delegate packages from £45 per person plus VAT, in 500 acres of parkland near Coventry. Up to 500 · 11 spaces · 121 bedrooms
Coventry Cathedral
Hold a concert, dinner or exhibition for up to 1,350 standing guests in Coventry's open-air Ruins or modernist Nave, a short walk from the railway station, with local caterers the cathedral recommends. Up to 1,350 · 12 spaces
De Montfort Hall
Promote a show to up to 2,096 standing or 1,470 to 1,590 seated at Leicester's grade II listed 1913 concert hall, with an in-house technical team and on-site space for three articulated lorries. Up to 2,096
Discovery Museum
You can host up to 1,000 standing guests across the whole museum, or 150 for a reception beside Turbinia, five minutes' walk from Newcastle Central Station; the 300-seat Great Hall takes bookings again from spring 2027. Up to 300 · 8 spaces
Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre
Run a conference for up to 240 delegates theatre style with 185 bedrooms on site, free parking and a location outside Birmingham's chargeable Clean Air Zone, on the University of Birmingham's Edgbaston campus. Up to 240 · 7 spaces · 185 bedrooms
Edinburgh Castle
You can host dinners, receptions and small meetings inside Edinburgh Castle, from 22 at dinner in the Gatehouse Suite to 250 to 500 guests with exclusive use of the whole castle. Up to 500
Engine Shed
You get weekday daytime rooms for up to 100 people right beside Bristol Temple Meads, with hybrid-ready AV and published day rates, until the venue closes in December 2026. Up to 100 · 5 spaces
Hinxton Hall Conference Centre
Run a conference of up to 290 in a tiered auditorium, with a 1,600 m² event space for posters and stands, 126 en-suite bedrooms and 150 free parking spaces on one estate near Cambridge. Up to 300 · 9 spaces · 126 bedrooms
Hotel du Vin Exeter
Hotel du Vin Exeter, a former eye infirmary on Magdalen Street, offers five private meeting and dining rooms for 6 to 80 guests and 59 bedrooms. Up to 80 · 5 spaces · 59 bedrooms
Hotel du Vin Newcastle
Hold a meeting, dinner or retreat for up to 75 guests on Newcastle Quayside, with 42 bedrooms on site and a day delegate package from £45. Up to 75 · 2 spaces · 42 bedrooms
IET London: Savoy Place
You can seat 451 in the tiered Kelvin Lecture Theatre, host 300 for dinner in the riverside Riverside Room and add breakouts on four floors, with in-house AV and Searcys catering, two minutes from Embankment. Up to 451 · 25 spaces
Insole Court
You can hire mansion rooms for up to 90 and a Stable Yard hall with projection and a PA, by the hour, with a free car park and Fairwater station 500 metres away. Up to 90 · 10 spaces
Keble College
Run a residential conference on one central Oxford site, with 320 bedrooms, a 250 seat theatre and a Dining Hall for 300, or use the H B Allen Centre for day meetings in term. Up to 300 · 18 spaces · 320 bedrooms
Kelham Island Museum
Hold a conference or dinner for 200, or a reception for 250, in the Upper Gallery above Kelham Island Museum's industrial collections, with AV, a licensed bar and preferred caterers from one hospitality team. Up to 250 · 3 spaces
Leeds Town Hall
You can enquire now to hire a refurbished Grade I listed hall in central Leeds, with a step-free entrance and a 21-person lift, when it reopens in 2027.
Leicester Cathedral
You can hire the nave of the cathedral that holds Richard III's tomb for a concert, dinner or exhibition, 10 to 15 minutes' walk from Leicester station.
Liverpool City Halls
Hold a dinner for up to 500 or a standing event for up to 1,200 in St George's Hall's Great Hall, opposite Lime Street station, or use Liverpool Town Hall rooms for 40 to 270 guests. Up to 1,200 · 18 spaces
Lord’s Cricket Ground
You can seat 600 theatre style or host 900 at a reception in the Nursery Pavilion at Lord's, with in-house catering and St John's Wood Tube about 10 minutes' walk away. Up to 900 · 17 spaces
Macdonald Burlington Hotel
You can seat 500 theatre style in the Horton Suite, keep delegates in 112 bedrooms and have them walk in from Birmingham New Street in under a minute. Up to 500 · 17 spaces · 112 bedrooms
Madingley Hall
Madingley Hall, the University of Cambridge's Tudor house five miles from the city, has 16 meeting spaces seating up to 90 and 62 en-suite bedrooms. Up to 90 · 16 spaces · 62 bedrooms
Manchester Town Hall
You get seven spaces on Albert Square, from a 44 seat boardroom to a 500 guest reception in the Great Hall, with in-house catering and a tram stop opposite. Up to 500 · 7 spaces
Mattioli Woods Welford Road
You get 34 suites for 12 to 1,250 guests, a 900 m² exhibition hall with vehicle access and a connected 191-bedroom hotel, a 15-minute walk from Leicester station. Up to 1,250 · 34 spaces · 191 bedrooms
Merchant Adventurers’ Hall
You get a medieval Great Hall in central York seating 180 for dinner, a separate Undercroft for 180 at the drinks reception, and corporate dinner hire from £1,200 with no VAT. Up to 180 · 4 spaces
Merchant Taylors’ Hall
You get a Grade I listed medieval hall inside York's city walls for meetings and dinners of up to 120, with up to 10 free parking spaces and day delegate packages that include an events host. Up to 120 · 4 spaces
Middlethorpe Hall
You can meet up to 56 theatre style in a self-contained room beside a free car park, then dine and stay in a 1699 house with 29 bedrooms, two miles from York city centre. Up to 56 · 29 bedrooms
Nottingham Castle
You can host a seminar, launch or reception in the Grade I listed Ducal Palace on Castle Rock, within walking distance of Nottingham station and the Old Market Square.
Old Trafford
You can seat 850 theatre style or 700 at dinner in the Manchester Suite, five minutes on foot from a Metrolink stop, with day delegate packages from £56 per person plus VAT. Up to 1,100 · 155 spaces
Olympia London
You can link 20,000 m² of heritage halls to a new ICC with an 800+ auditorium, beside Kensington (Olympia) station, with 350 hotel rooms on site and the Grand Hall seating up to 5,000. Up to 5,000 · 350 bedrooms
Òran Mór
You can seat 360 theatre style or 276 for dinner in a converted West End church, with day delegate packages from £35 a head and Hillhead subway a few minutes' walk away. Up to 500 · 4 spaces
Oxford Town Hall
You can host up to 500 theatre style in a domed Victorian hall, with nine more rooms and published prices, from £420 a day for a meeting package, in central Oxford. Up to 500 · 10 spaces
Paintworks Events
You get a 300-seat industrial event space with wi-fi, sound, a screen and two courtyards in the hire fee, free parking for 60 cars and a 12 minute walk from Temple Meads. Up to 300
Performance Venues at the University of Sheffield
You can seat 1,230 in the Octagon Centre, up to 380 in Grade II listed Firth Hall or 177 in the Drama Studio, with meeting rooms alongside, all on the University of Sheffield's central campus. Up to 1,230 · 5 spaces
Prestonfield House
You get a 500-guest gala space and private dining for 2 to 50 on one Edinburgh estate, with free parking, in-house catering and AV, and event planning at no charge. Up to 500 · 23 bedrooms
RCP London Events
You can run a 300-seat tiered conference, a 400-guest reception or an exhibition of up to 20 tables in about 344 m², all on one Regent's Park site with in-house AV and catering. Up to 300 · 12 spaces · 6 bedrooms
Reading Town Hall
If your delegates travel by train, you get a Grade II* listed venue under two minutes' walk from Reading station, with rooms from a 12-seat boardroom to a Concert Hall seating up to 700. Up to 700 · 7 spaces
Rhodes House
You can hold a 280-seat plenary, split into three breakout rooms and dine 150 in the historic hall, with 34 en-suite bedrooms on site in central Oxford. Up to 300 · 5 spaces · 34 bedrooms
Rosebank Distillery
You can hold an 18-guest meeting, a 40-guest presentation or an exclusive evening for up to 80 in a working Falkirk distillery, with free on-site parking and published rates from £25 per person. Up to 40
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
You get a 300-seat tiered auditorium, a Great Hall for 150 at dinner and in-house AV with hybrid support in Edinburgh's New Town, with no VAT on the hire fee as the College is a charity. Up to 300 · 12 spaces
Royal Institution
You can run a conference for up to 400 in the Royal Institution's tiered Theatre and use nine more Mayfair rooms for dining and breakouts, five minutes' walk from Green Park. Up to 400 · 10 spaces
Royal Liver Suite
You can take the whole first floor of the Royal Liver Building for up to 200 guests, or 240 in some layouts, with a private balcony over the Mersey and in-house catering. Up to 240
Science and Industry Museum
You can hold a 250-seat theatre-style conference and an evening dinner for 270 at one Manchester site, with Benugo catering and Deansgate station about 10 minutes' walk away. Up to 450 · 6 spaces
Sheffield Cathedral
You can seat 300 guests for dinner in the Nave with in-house catering and exclusive use, or meet in four day rooms for 8 to 50 people, in central Sheffield. Up to 300 · 4 spaces
SS Great Britain and Bristol Dockyards
Run a conference in the Great Eastern Hall for up to 160 theatre style, then take guests on board the SS Great Britain for dinner for 160 in the First Class Dining Saloon. Up to 160 · 11 spaces
St Mary’s Guildhall
Seat 100 guests or host 110 at a reception in a medieval Coventry guildhall, with day meetings from £30 plus VAT per delegate and the station about a 10-minute walk away. Up to 110 · 4 spaces
Surgeons Quarter
You can hold a plenary of up to 300 in Wolfson Hall, about 268 m², with 15 rooms on one Old Town site about 10 minutes' walk from Waverley. Up to 300 · 15 spaces · 129 bedrooms
Thackray Museum of Medicine
Book one of five rooms for 10 to 120 seated delegates, with AV, free Wi-Fi, discounted parking and free gallery entry included, in a Grade II listed former Leeds workhouse. Up to 200 · 5 spaces
The Assembly House
Book six function rooms, an in-house kitchen and 15 bedrooms in Norwich city centre, with dinners for up to 152 in the Noverre Ballroom and a lift to the first-floor rooms. Up to 300 · 6 spaces · 15 bedrooms
The Assembly Rooms, Newcastle
You can hire one Georgian room or all seven spaces 4 minutes' walk from Newcastle Central Station, with the Chandelier Suite seating 375 theatre style or 180 for a banquet. Up to 400 · 7 spaces
The Brewery
Seat up to 900 theatre style in the Porter Tun and add breakouts and exhibition space in the same City building, with in-house catering and AV and Barbican and Moorgate about five minutes away. Up to 900 · 7 spaces
The Coal Exchange Hotel
Seat up to 400 theatre style or host 600 standing in a Victorian trading hall in Cardiff Bay, with 74 bedrooms in the same building and Cardiff Bay station a short walk away. Up to 600 · 2 spaces · 74 bedrooms
The Grand Brighton
You can seat up to 900 theatre style in the sea-facing Empress Suite and house delegates in 205 bedrooms, about a 15-minute walk from Brighton Station. Up to 900 · 10 spaces · 205 bedrooms
The Grand Hotel Birmingham
You can hold a dinner or launch for up to 300 in a listed Victorian ballroom, with 185 bedrooms on site and Snow Hill station 2 minutes away. Up to 500 · 10 spaces · 185 bedrooms
The Grand, York
You can seat 120 theatre style in the Grand Boardroom and house delegates in 207 bedrooms, three minutes' walk from York station, with day delegate rates from £50 per person. Up to 120 · 6 spaces · 207 bedrooms
The Halls, Norwich
Host from 20 guests to 900 standing in one Grade I listed medieval complex, 950 metres from Norwich station, with four spaces from Becket's Chapel to St Andrew's Hall. Up to 900 · 4 spaces
The Kia Oval
You can seat 700 theatre style or host a 1,500-guest reception at the home of Surrey cricket, choosing from 22 spaces, with Oval Tube station about 100 metres from the main entrance. Up to 1,500 · 22 spaces
The Merchants House of Glasgow
You can seat up to 200 theatre style in the Grand Hall in central Glasgow, with four more rooms for breakouts and in-house catering, and the venue says hire fees support charity. Up to 200 · 5 spaces
The Midland Hotel
You can seat 700 theatre style or 450 for a banquet in the Alexandra Suite, with 312 bedrooms upstairs and Oxford Road station 200 metres away. Up to 700 · 10 spaces · 312 bedrooms
The Oxford Union
Seat up to 360 on the Oxford Union's Debating Chamber benches and host private dinners for 60, in six hireable rooms a 12-minute walk from Oxford station. Up to 360 · 6 spaces
Titanic Hotel Belfast
Run a conference for up to 300 theatre style, or dinner for 220, in the room where Titanic was designed, with 119 bedrooms upstairs and day delegate rates from £45. Up to 300 · 7 spaces · 119 bedrooms
Titanic Hotel Liverpool
Seat up to 994 theatre style in Rum Warehouse, with ten published spaces, 153 bedrooms and 130 on-site parking spaces on Liverpool's Stanley Dock, plus vehicle access to both halls. Up to 994 · 10 spaces · 153 bedrooms
Trades Hall of Glasgow
You can seat 250 theatre style or 180 for dinner in the Grand Hall, with five smaller rooms for breakouts and a published day delegate rate from £24.50 a head. Up to 250 · 6 spaces
Ulster Hall
You get one Victorian hall in central Belfast listed for 930 to 1,669 guests, a two-minute walk from the city centre and City Hall bus depot, with in-house bars and step-free access by lift. Up to 1,669
University of Glasgow Conferences and Events
Book a 1,100-seat theatre in Bute Hall, dinners for up to 360 in the Hunter Halls and boardrooms for 14, with in-house catering and Hillhead Subway about five minutes' walk away. Up to 1,100
Weetwood Hall Estate
Host up to 200 delegates theatre style and sleep them on site, with 110 bedrooms, 20 meeting rooms and free parking for up to 170 cars, about 4 miles north of Leeds city centre. Up to 200 · 20 spaces · 110 bedrooms
Winstanley House
You get two ballrooms with private terraces, in-house catering, 19 bedrooms and published delegate packages from £27 plus VAT in a Grade II listed Georgian house in Braunstone Park, Leicester. Up to 450 · 4 spaces · 19 bedrooms
Wollaton Hall
You can seat 100 for dinner in Wollaton Hall's Great Hall, host 150 for a reception with the Salon, or put up to 1,000 in a marquee in its Nottingham deer park. Up to 150
York Conferences and Events
Book a 1,028 seat auditorium, 900 m² of exhibition space and campus breakouts, plus The Guildhall in York city centre, through one University of York events team. Up to 1,028 · 200 spaces · 900 bedrooms
Compare venues in the Historic event venues sector at a glance
| Venue | Town or city | Largest capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen Performing Arts | Aberdeen | 1,491 people (seated, His Majesty's Theatre) |
| Albert Hall Conference Centre | Nottingham | 750 people (theatre style, Great Hall) |
| Ashmolean Museum | Oxford | 800 people (drinks reception, multiple galleries or museum-wide hire) |
| Bar Convent | York | 60 people (theatre style, The Bedingfield) |
| Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery | Birmingham | 200 people (Christmas drinks reception or dinner packages (published range 50-200)) |
| Bournemouth Pavilion | Bournemouth | 1,432 people (conferences, graduations and awards ceremonies, Pavilion Theatre) |
| Brighton Dome | Brighton | 1,700 people (seated, Concert Hall (including upper circle)) |
| Bristol Beacon | Bristol | 1,650 people (seated, Beacon Hall) |
| Bristol Museum & Art Gallery | Bristol | 400 people (informal reception, Winterstoke Hall and Wills Hall combined) |
| Bristol Zoo Project | Bristol | 40 people (African Forest Classroom or Bear Wood Event Space (16 to 40, layout not specified)) |
| Cardiff Castle | Cardiff | 120 people (dancing, The Undercroft) |
| Chester Cathedral | Chester | 850 people (theatre style, The Nave) |
| Chicheley Hall | Milton Keynes | 104 people (theatre style, Wolfson 2) |
| Chilworth Manor Hotel | Southampton | 150 people (theatre style, Coach House Suite (with finger buffet in Tanners)) |
| Church House Westminster | London | 600 people (theatre style, Assembly Hall) |
| Coombe Abbey Hotel | Coventry | 500 people (guests, The Marquee) |
| Coventry Cathedral | Coventry | 1,350 people (standing, the Nave or the Ruins) |
| De Montfort Hall | Leicester | 2,096 people (standing, Auditorium) |
| Discovery Museum | Newcastle | 300 people (theatre style, Great Hall) |
| Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre | Birmingham | 240 people (theatre style, Fry Suite) |
| Edinburgh Castle | Edinburgh | 500 people (drinks reception, exclusive use of the castle (published as 250-500)) |
| Engine Shed | Bristol | 100 people (theatre style, Bristol Innovations Zone event space) |
| Hinxton Hall Conference Centre | Cambridge | 300 people (dining at long tables, Dining Room (290 theatre style in the Francis Crick Auditorium; marquee on the lawn up to 500)) |
| Hotel du Vin Exeter | Exeter | 80 people (drinks reception, Magdalen Lounge) |
| Hotel du Vin Newcastle | Newcastle | 75 people (exclusive use, the Bistro) |
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Questions about Historic event venues
How many listings are there for Historic event venues?
You can compare 82 listings here: 82 venues.
Which towns and cities have the most listings in the Historic event venues sector?
London (8), York (6), Bristol (6), Oxford (5), Glasgow (4).
Which venue in the Historic event venues sector has the largest stated capacity?
Olympia London, at 5,000 people, among the venues here that publish a capacity.
You can check every answer against the 82 listings in this section: each one is worked out from what they publish.