St George's Hall, Liverpool facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St George's Hall
St George's Hall
Location	St George's Place, Liverpool, England
OS grid reference	SJ 349 907
Built	1841–1854
Architects	Harvey Lonsdale Elmes Charles Cockerell
Architectural style(s)	Neoclassical
Listed Building – Grade I
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St George's Hall is a famous building in Liverpool, England. It stands across from Lime Street railway station in the city centre. This grand building opened in 1854. It has a Neoclassical design, which means it looks like ancient Greek and Roman buildings. Inside, you'll find concert halls and law courts.

St George's Hall is a very important building. It is listed as a Grade I building on the National Heritage List for England. This means it's a building of special historical or architectural interest. On one side of the hall is St George's Plateau, and on the other side are St John's Gardens.

A famous historian named Nikolaus Pevsner once said that St George's Hall is one of the best "neo-Grecian" buildings in the world. This means it's a great example of buildings inspired by ancient Greece. For a while, the hall was part of Liverpool's World Heritage Site. Since 2012, the Liverpool Register Office and Coroner's Court have been located here.

Building History: How it Started

The land where St George's Hall stands used to have the first Liverpool Infirmary, a hospital, from 1749 to 1824. Liverpool often held music festivals, but there wasn't a big enough hall for them. So, in 1836, people decided to raise money to build a new hall for music festivals, meetings, and concerts.

In 1838, the first stone of the new building was laid. This was done to celebrate the coronation of Queen Victoria.

Designing the Hall

A competition was held in 1839 to find the best design for the hall. Many architects entered, and a 25-year-old architect from London, Harvey Lonsdale Elmes, won. The plan was to have a main hall for 3,000 people and a smaller concert room for 1,000 people. The building was expected to cost about £35,000.

At the same time, Liverpool also needed new courts for legal trials. Another competition was held for these "assize" courts, and Elmes won that too. In 1840, Elmes suggested combining both projects into one large building. Construction began in 1841, and the building officially opened in 1854. The smaller concert room opened two years later.

Sadly, Elmes died in 1847 before the building was finished. Charles Cockerell took over in 1851 and was in charge of decorating the inside. The final cost of the building was much higher than planned, over £300,000. The law courts moved out of St George's Hall in 1984.

In the 2000s, St George's Hall had a big restoration project that cost £23 million. It was officially reopened in 2007 by Prince Charles.

What the Hall Looks Like

St George's Hall is a huge and impressive building.

Inside the Hall: The Great Hall

Interior view looking north of Great Hall. The floor, designed by Cockerell, has about 30,000 tiles.

The Great Hall, also called the Concert Hall, is the biggest room inside. It's very long and tall. The design of the Great Hall was inspired by ancient Roman baths. The ceiling is a large, curved "tunnel vault" made of hollow bricks. It's supported by eight tall columns of polished red granite.

The ceiling is decorated with plasterwork, including angels representing ideas like strength and justice. The floor is made of over 30,000 colorful tiles. These tiles are usually covered to protect them. The doors are made of bronze and have special designs that include the letters SPQL, which stands for "the Senate and the People of Liverpool," like the ancient Romans used.

The Great Hall has ten large chandeliers, which are big hanging lights. They were designed by Cockerell and are decorated with ship parts and Liver Birds, which are symbols of Liverpool.

• The organ is at one end of the Great Hall.
• The hall has niches (small alcoves) for statues of important people from Liverpool's history.
• In 2012, a statue of Kitty Wilkinson was added, which was the first statue of a woman in the hall in over 100 years.
• The stained-glass windows at each end of the hall were added in 1883–84.

South side of St George's Hall showing the empty pediment that used to contain sculpture.

Outside the Hall: Grand Features

The main entrance is on the east side, with a wide set of steps leading up to it. On these steps, you can see a statue of Benjamin Disraeli. At the south-east corner, there's a bronze statue of Major-General William Earle.

The front of the building has 16 large Corinthian columns. Between some of the columns are reliefs, which are sculptures carved into the wall. The west side of the building also has columns.

The north side has a rounded part with columns and three doorways. These doorways are flanked by statues of nereids (sea nymphs) or tritons (sea gods) holding cornucopias (horns of plenty) with lamps.

On the south side, there's a portico (a porch with columns) with eight columns. Above these columns, there's a Latin inscription that says, "For Arts, Law and Counsel the townspeople built this place in 1841."

Above the south portico, there used to be sculptures of Britannia, a symbol of Britain, protecting agriculture and arts. These sculptures were removed in 1950 because they were damaged and unsafe.

• External features
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  Two of the four lions designed by Cockerell, sculpted 1856 by W.G. Nicholl (moved to present position in 1864)

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  Lampholder, eastern elevation, in the form of a Triton holding a Cornucopia, sculpted by W.G. Nicholl

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  Lampholder, eastern elevation, in the form of a Nereid holding a Cornucopia, sculpted by W.G. Nicholl

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  The door beneath the south portico

The Small Concert Room

The Small Concert Room is oval-shaped and beautifully decorated. It was finished in 1856. It used to be called the Golden Concert Room because of its rich decoration. A balcony supported by caryatids (carved female figures used as columns) goes around the room. This room was also restored between 2000 and 2007. It can now seat 480 people.

Heating and Cooling System

In the basement of St George's Hall, there's a special heating and ventilation system. It was designed by Dr Boswell Reid and was the first attempt at air conditioning in a public building in the UK. The system aimed to warm and cool the building without creating drafts.

Air was brought in through shafts and warmed by hot water pipes. Fans moved the air around. In hot weather, the air was cooled using cold water. This system was very advanced for its time. In 2005, St George's Hall was recognized as the "World's First Air Conditioned Building."

• Heating and ventilation system
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  Ventilation Handle

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  Part of the original central heating system

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  One of the Victorian boilers in the basement

The Crown Court

• The Crown Court
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  General view of Crown Court

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  View of Crown Court from Judges point of view

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  Judge's chamber for Crown Court, entered from the door behind the judge's seat in the Crown Court

Until 1984, the Liverpool Crown Court held trials in the courtroom at the south end of St George's Hall. This court has been used as a filming location for many movies and TV shows, often pretending to be the famous Old Bailey court in London.

Events and Gatherings

Christmas entertainment in Great Hall 1864

St George's Hall has hosted many important events throughout its history.

• In 1851, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited the hall.
• The first official event was a three-day music festival in 1854.
• Famous writer Charles Dickens gave many readings in the Small Concert Room.
• In 1869, a special dinner was held in the Great Hall for Charles Dickens before he sailed to America.
• The hall has been used for many concerts, meetings, and public gatherings over the years.

Public Gatherings and Commemorations

St George's Hall from St John's Beacon.

The St George's Plateau, the open space in front of the hall, has been a place for many public rallies and events.

• In 1915, Lord Kitchener inspected 12,000 soldiers of the Liverpool Pals here during World War I. Many men joined the army at St George's Hall.
• The Plateau has also been a gathering spot for fans of The Beatles after the deaths of John Lennon and George Harrison.
• Liverpool and Everton football teams have celebrated their Cup Final victories here.
• In 2008, Ringo Starr played on the roof of the building to celebrate Liverpool being the European Capital of Culture.
• In 2015, the "Weeping Window" sculpture, made of ceramic poppies, was displayed at the hall to remember World War I.
• In 2019, banners were hung from the hall to remember the 30th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

In 2023, St George's Hall hosted the semi-final allocation draw for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

The Grand Organ

Organ, designed by Henry Willis, built 1851–55, enlarged 1931. The small statue on top of the organ is music with her lyre.

The organ in St George's Hall is very famous. It was built by Henry Willis and finished in 1855. It has many "stops" (which control the sound) and pipes. It was once the largest organ in the country.

• The organ was rebuilt in 1896 and again in 1931 to make it even better.
• In 1940, the hall and its organ were damaged during an air-raid in World War II.
• Repairs were made to the organ as part of the hall's restoration from 2000 to 2007.
• The organ is still maintained by special builders today.

Organists of St George's Hall

Many talented musicians have been the organists at St George's Hall:

• W. T. Best (1855–1894)
• Dr Albert Lister Peace (1896–1912)
• Herbert Frederick Ellingford (1913–1940)
• Dr Caleb E. Jarvis (1957–1980)
• Noel Rawsthorne (1980–1984)
• Professor Ian Tracey (since 1984)

St George's Plateau: A Public Space

Liverpool Cenotaph

St George's Plateau is the flat area between the hall and the railway station. It has statues of four lions and lamp posts decorated with dolphins. You can also find several monuments here:

• Bronze statues of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria on horseback.
• A monument to Major-General William Earle.
• The Liverpool Cenotaph, a war memorial unveiled in 1930. It's considered one of the most remarkable war memorials in the country.

The city council has plans to make the plateau even bigger as part of a project to redesign the streets around it.

Restoration and Modern Use

After a big restoration project, St George's Hall reopened in 2007. It even won an award for its restoration. A Heritage Centre was created inside to teach visitors about the hall's history. Guided tours and exhibitions are also offered.

The hall is now often used for major city events. For example, during Christmas, an ice skating rink was sometimes set up in the Concert Hall. It has also been a backdrop for the city's Christmas Markets and the famous "Liverpool Giants" events.

Filming Location

St George's Hall is so grand that it's often used as a filming location for movies and TV shows.

• It has appeared in the BBC series Peaky Blinders and The War of the Worlds.
• It was also used in the 1993 film In the Name of the Father and the 2022 film The Batman.
• A Coca-Cola advertisement was filmed inside the building in 1987.
• In 2009, the paranormal investigation show "Most Haunted Live" used the hall as its main base for a week-long event.
• In 2023, St George's Hall hosted the live draw for the Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals.

Images for kids

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  The northern end of St George's Hall