St George’s Hall

This building is used as the old bailey in lot’s of films, the history is excellent, the architecture and décor superb, you can see the cells, walk up to the dock, sit in the judges chair and go into his chambers a must visit and it’s free

If you visit Liverpool visit St Georges Hall. Because it is magnificent.
The Great Hall with its Minton tiled floor (only exposed every 10 years) and
extravagant gold arched ceiling must be as sumptuous as a corporation building can be, and a must for architect buffs. This contrasts with the prison cells in the basement, where the history of inmates (some notorious) are displayed on the walls. It is atmospheric and I needed to remind myself that it was once not just a museum but a place that life and death sentences were handed down. The Victorian court room was the crown court for Liverpool until the eighties.
Entrance is FREE. You are allowed to wander around more or less as you wish. The great hall is viewed from the balcony. Organised tours are available.
The entrance is on the left hand side of the building as you look at the colonnaded frontage.
Did not find the Minton tea room they mention on the web site so will have to visit again and maybe take in a lunchtime concert.

what an amazing building and full of history, if you have an eye for detail and art, you must visit when in Liverpool.
No parking but being in the town there are enough multi store car parks around st Georges hall.
Lovely gardens for a bit to eat in.

St George’s Hall is a building of frightening proportions, just one of many remnants of the iron might of Victorian Liverpool. The sheer monumental scale of the thing as you walk around it is astonishing.
The last time I visited the Hall (I capitalised that because it deserved it) was for a job fair, when nasty little stalls for dull corporations cluttered up the place. Despite this, the gorgeous volume of the building’s interior made me realise how impressive the city’s history truly is. Rather than forge a career in one of the dozens of dead-​end pathways being thrust in my face, part of me was tempted to find somebody working in the cloakroom or something and ask if I could have their job instead. At least he gets to work in a landmark.

Simply put, this place is grand. I’m not entirely sure what neo-​classical means in all its glory off the top of my head but what I do know is it is one of Liverpool’s must visit places.
There really is a sense of history and culture about the place and no surprise it was a driving force behind Liverpool’s successful bid to become the European Capital of Culture in 2008. You will be in awe of the place the moment you get there. The devil is in the detail and it’s the little things that you’ll notice and think… wow. For example the Hall has arguably one of world’s best brick arches not to mention a priceless mosaic hall floor of 30,000 tiles. Don’t get dizzy when you look up inside, the tunnel vaulted ceiling is the largest of its kind in Europe, and is supported on massive red granite columns. Adorning the ceiling are a plethora of figures portraying various qualities Victorian Liverpool aspired to. Although I am slightly skeptical of these «values». I say this because while this was a decent time period for economic development and growth, it was at the expense of disgraceful imperial rule of the «British Empire» across the globe. The aim of which was unlawful invasion, occupancy and outright robbery of resources. That is a discussion for another day perhaps, however but it did make me chuckle a little when I came across the phrase «Victorian aspirational values».
For those of you with little interest in history or those with an appreciation for aesthetic pleasure St George’s Hall is a great place to get some quality Kodak (or Samsung or Cannon or whichever camera you have) moments.

St George’s Hall is a huge landmark in Liverpool, it is one of the first things you spot as you walk out of Liverpool Lime Street Station. It is a huge neo-​classical Grade I listed building which was originally built for law courts and as a music venue.
The tours that are provided around the hall are great, you can go into the prisoners cells, the docks and judge’s quarters. From there is the concert hall with a HUGE organ — that sounds remotely dirty but we’ll leave that there.
It is a great building in Liverpool and is definitely a must for locals and tourists alike. You’ll be missing out on a part of Liverpool if you don’t pop along.

A grade I listed building and an illustrious landmark, the monumental St George’s Hall is going nowhere! It’s a must-​see on a tourist trail of the city and coming out of Lime Street station you can’t miss it, the pillars stretching out across 169ft, lit up from the inside at the night, it’s particularily striking.
The best tour of St George’s is from the ground-​up. From what seems like a little side entrance you can go on a tour of the cells in the position of the prisoners who were kept in the cells underneath the courtrooms.
They still have some of the engravings which people made in the walls which are preserved under clear plastic for you to see. Through the prison cells and up a tiny winding staircase you find yourself in the docks. Ready for trial. Lucky for you, you can get off scot free and even have a sneaky look in the judge’s quarters!
From there, you get to see the concert hall in all it’s grandeur, including the second largest organ in the country (7,000 pipes)!
Miss this and miss out!

St. George’s hall is the finest example of neo-​classical architecture in the country. Visiting the heritage centre on St. Johns Lane brings the story of St. George’s Hall alive with access to cells, crown court and a viewing gallery enabling visitors to experience the magnificent great hall.
Throughout the year, there is a range of exhibitions, talks, markets, performances and events taking place. Full details can be found on their website.
The stunning Victorian architecture of the great hall and the great organ are a must see. Entrance to this site is free for all and I would recommend visiting.

A definite must on your Liverpool tour. The mighty St George’s Hall is the jewel in the crown of Liverpool’s mercantile past and is part of the most impressive collection of buildings in Europe along William Brown St.
Like the Anglican Cathedral up the road, St George’s is a monumental structure with an impressive concourse on one side dotted with equally impressive statues and memorials to fallen war heroes, past monarchs and some of the city’s most important sons. On the other are the beautiful gardens looking down onto the city — apprently the plans were followed incorrectly and it should be the other way round!
Inside is a lavishly and intricately detailed exhibition hall, with beautiful décor from the painted ceiling to the mosaic flooring and houses a variety of events.

St George’s Hall was designed as a multi purpose building to hold music festivals and to be used as a court. It opened just after Queen Victoria came to the throne after taking 12 years to build. The hall is known for having an impressive brick arch, its floor made from thousands of tiles, its clever decoration and the second largest pipe organ in the country.
I recommend checking out the Heritage Centre and it’s interactive themed tours. Special tours on Wednesdays and weekends show you parts of the building you wont see when visiting the Heritage Centre. Check out the website for more info about these. I don’t drink tea but so I can’t comment on the Minton Tea Rooms but the café open Tues — Sat serves really good scones.

This building is another example of Liverpool’s tremendous architecture. Impressive from the outside, it is simply astounding on the inside. If you get a chance take the guided tour.

Thoroughly agree with the positive reviews. I went through the whole place last year, on one of the Open House Heritage Days, and I thought it was wonderful.
I didn’t realise how many venues there were inside the place — there must be four or five. There are also the Courts of Justice, and on a tour you can walk all round. Since there are Courts, there are also prisoners’ cells, which are incredibly oppressive. They’ve even kept the flogging frame — a St Andrews cross affair, extremely ominous.
I was able to see details of the original central heating system, which like so much of Victorian Liverpool was a technological triumph of the time.
You can also get up to the balcony on one of the edges of the great hall, and see much more detail of the carvings and decoration on the roof, as well as the fantastic chandeliers. Even if you have to pay for this place, its worth every single penny, and I’m so glad its been opened up now.
PS — the floor is very famous, and at one point I noticed that honour was spelt in what’s now the American way, i.e. honor. I made sure to email all my American cousins.

This is one of those places that seems to bring an involuntary gasp from people when they first walk in. The inside of the Hall is quite simply astonishing — the architecture is fantastic and it is one of the most amazing spaces I have ever seen (even before the recent restoration). It makes for a fabulous venue for concerts/​lectures etc. The outside is pretty impressive too, and is well-​known as a city centre landmark. If you’re visiting Liverpool St George’s Hall is certainly worth a visit — and it’s very easy to get to too, located as it is right in the middle of the city (close to Lime Street station).