Shoreditch Town Hall
/ About
Shoreditch Town Hall opened in 1866 as one of the grandest vestry halls of its day, built by a borough that put the motto More Light, More Power beneath its crest and a statue of Progress on the tower. It served as a music hall, then as a boxing venue from 1955 to 1975, survived a fire in 1904 and two world wars, and by the 1990s had fallen far enough to reach the Buildings at Risk register. A trust took the lease in 2002 and has been restoring and reopening the building ever since.
Eight spaces are let for private events. The Assembly Hall is the room people come for: Italian marble panelling, a balcony in the Matcham manner, fifteen metres to the ceiling and a raised stage, holding 500 at a reception or 300 seated to dinner. Underneath it lies The Ditch, more than a dozen interconnecting basement rooms left exactly as they were found, with exposed brick, old stoves and blocked fireplaces, and its own door onto Old Street. Between the two sit the Council Chamber, the original vestry hall with a moulded ceiling, floor-to-ceiling columns and stained glass, and three interconnecting committee rooms that share a private first-floor corridor.
The building is Grade II listed and keeps its own production team, so a house sound system, permanent and semi-permanent lighting rigs and video are handled by people who work in these rooms every week. The Clove Club occupies the ground floor. Shoreditch Town Hall Trust is a registered charity and hire income funds its work in Hackney.
/ Rooms Available
Assembly Hall
PrivateThe principal hall, on the first floor, with Italian marble panelled walls, a balcony in the Matcham manner and a ceiling fifteen metres up. The stalls floor measures 21.5m by 18.1m and the raised stage 10.3m by 4.4m, with its own separate entrances. Seating on the stalls level is removable, so the room takes a reception, a dinner or a dinner and dance, and the balcony adds capacity above.
Council Chamber
PrivateThe building's original vestry hall and its most architecturally significant room, on the ground floor at 17.5m by 8.9m under a nine-metre ceiling. An ornate moulded ceiling, floor-to-ceiling columns and stained glass windows survive intact. An interconnecting door opens into the Mayor's Parlour, so the two are regularly taken together.
The Ditch
PrivateThe untouched basement of the original listed building: over a dozen interconnecting rooms with exposed brickwork, pipework, old fireplaces and stoves. It has a separate entrance on Old Street and its own bathrooms, and despite the abandoned look it carries full production capability with discreet rigging points throughout.
Large Committee Room
PrivateThe largest and brightest of three interconnecting rooms on the first floor, 12.4m by 6.4m with a seven-metre buttressed ceiling. Windows run the full length of one wall, and the room keeps its Edwardian fireplaces. It shares a private corridor with the Medium and Small Committee Rooms and is the room the house uses for ceremonies.
Mayor's Parlour
PrivateA bright ground-floor reception room of 9.8m by 7.1m with stained glass windows and a fireplace. An interconnecting door leads straight into the Council Chamber, and it is most often taken as an anteroom or breakout for an event held next door.
Old Servery
PrivateA utility room of 9.8m by 7.1m alongside the Assembly Hall on the first floor, with goods lift access, running water, three-phase power and acoustic panelling. It is the room that becomes the event kitchen for a large hall booking, and it works on its own as a rehearsal or production space.
Medium Committee Room
PrivateThe middle of the three first-floor committee rooms at 8m by 6.1m, with interconnecting doors to both its neighbours and natural daylight throughout. It suits presentations, castings and meetings, and works as a breakout when all three rooms are taken together.
Small Committee Room
PrivateThe smallest of the three, 6.1m by 5.2m, adjoining the Medium Committee Room. It is taken on its own for a close meeting or away-day, and as dressing room, office or breakout space when a larger event runs elsewhere in the building.
/ Perfect For
/ Features
AV Equipment
- – Sound System
- – Lighting Rig
- – Stage
Catering
- – Private Bar
- – External Catering Allowed
Venue Specs
- – Load-In Access
- – Wheelchair Accessible
- – Dedicated Events Team
- – Private Entrance
/ Getting Here
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