Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions About the Halls at St Andrews Plain
The questions that come up most often about the building, gathered in one place with the detail linked.
The questions below come up repeatedly, and the answers are gathered here so that they can be found without working through the whole guide. Each points onward to the page that covers the subject properly. Anything needing more than a paragraph is linked through to the page that treats it properly.
Where to go next
For the building’s story — the Dominican foundation, the fire of 1413, the purchase of 1538 and five centuries of civic use — the history page sets it out in sequence. That page follows the complex from the Dominican arrival in 1226 through to its present civic use, which is the sequence most other questions depend on.
For who has performed here, from the resident Norwich Philharmonic Society through to the rock and pop nights preserved in fan archives, the performance history collects what can be verified. That record is assembled from band archives, orchestral listings and concert databases, because no complete register was ever kept by the building itself.
For hiring a room, the hire guide covers the four spaces and what each suits, and the capacity notes explain why one room has several different capacities depending on the layout. Between them those two pages answer nearly every practical question a prospective hirer asks, from which room suits an event to why one room carries four different capacities.
For getting there, parking, load-in and access, the visiting page has the practical detail. For what is actually on, the events guide explains where current listings live — programming and ticketing are handled by the city council rather than here, which is the single most useful thing to know before making contact about anything at all.
Common questions
Who owns and runs St Andrews Hall?
Norwich City Council, which has held the complex since the corporation bought it from the crown in 1538 and which operates it today under the name The Halls. The council programmes the public events, handles hire and publishes the current terms and listings itself. Every practical question about the premises ends up with the same team.
Can I just walk in and look around?
Not as a rule. The complex is a working event venue instead of a museum with an admission desk, so access normally comes through attending something. Heritage open days and guided tours do appear in the programme and are the reliable way to see the building for its own sake.
How old is the building?
The present church dates from the rebuilding that followed a fire in 1413, so the fabric above ground is essentially fifteenth century. The crypt beneath the east end survives from the earlier friary, making it the oldest interior on the site by a considerable margin. It escaped the fire because it was below ground when the roof came down.
What is the difference between the two halls?
They are the two halves of one church. St Andrews Hall is the nave, large and open under a hammerbeam roof, taking over 750 seated. Blackfriars Hall is the chancel beyond the crossing, oak-panelled and taking around 250, with a quite different atmosphere. The difference in atmosphere between them is considerably larger than the difference in size.
How many people does the venue hold?
It depends entirely on the room and the layout. The nave takes over 750 seated and around 1,000 standing, while the smaller spaces run from 250 down to about 60. Dining capacities are always well below theatre capacities in the same room. Tables and service routes eat far more floor than rows of chairs do.
Is the building accessible?
Access was a priority of the recent restoration, which brought step-free routes and improved facilities across the complex. Some routes through medieval fabric remain indirect, and the crypt sits below the main floor level, so specific requirements are best raised with the venue in advance. Notice turns an awkward route into an arranged one, which is the whole difference.
How do I hire a room?
Hire is arranged directly with Norwich City Council, which handles availability, quotations, licensing and the technical arrangements. Enquiries go to the council's venue team rather than through an intermediary, and the council publishes its own current terms, so a quotation obtained anywhere else is worth checking against the published figures before anyone signs anything.
Can I get married there?
Both main halls have been licensed for civil ceremonies, which is why the complex appears across Norfolk wedding listings. Licensing is reviewed periodically and applies room by room, so the current position for a specific room and date is worth confirming early. A licence that covered a room last season does not automatically cover it this one.
Is the Norwich Beer Festival still held there?
Not in the form it took for decades. The long-running festival in the halls no longer operates on that basis, and the web address that served it now points to a separate Norwich craft beer event held elsewhere in the city. Anyone planning a visit should work from the current organiser’s own listing.
Where is it, and where do I park?
St Andrews Plain, Norwich NR3 1AU, in the city centre between St Andrews Street and Blackfriars Street. There is very little parking on the Plain itself; the St Andrews multi-storey is the nearest substantial option and the railway station is about fifteen minutes on foot. Arriving by train is generally easier than driving and parking.
Which bands have played there?
The documented list includes The Cure in May 1981, Tangerine Dream on their 1975 cathedral tour, Budgie in November 1982 and Rick Wakeman repeatedly across four decades, alongside orchestras including the Philharmonia and the Bournemouth Symphony. Each of those dates rests on an archive kept by enthusiasts, not by the venue itself.
Is this the same as Saint Andrew's Hall in Detroit?
No. There is a well-known music venue of a very similar name in Detroit, Michigan, and the two are frequently confused in concert listings and memorabilia. This guide concerns the medieval friary complex on St Andrews Plain in Norwich, England. Concert listings and memorabilia confuse the two constantly, so the distinction is worth stating.