Town Hall
Reading Town Hall enjoys a long and illustrious history. It consists of four buildings built in the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1786 the oldest building - the Victoria Hall - opened as a purpose built town hall designed by Charles Poulton.
A new council chamber and a clock tower designed by Alfred Waterhouse opened in 1876 followed by the Museum, Library and a Concert Hall, designed by the architect Thomas Lanson.Art Gallery and Library Reading room were added and then in 1975 new civic offices were built to serve Reading Borough and the Town Hall ceased its administration function.
Reading Town Hall survived the threat of demolition in the 1970s and was comprehensively refurbished in the late 1980s. It has undergone further changes to meet modern requirements and now hosts a leading conference and banqueting venue, The Concert Hall, Reading Museum and the Berkshire Coroner's Office.
The Concert Hall
Centrally located within The Town Hall complex, The Concert Hall is one of the finest of its type in Britain.
Originally built in 1882 and refurbished in 2000, it also houses the restored Father Willis Organ, boasting superb acoustics.
The Concert Hall hosts a varied programme of classical music, organ recitals, blues, jazz, folk, acoustic pop & rock, stand-up comedy, and lectures to suite all tastes.
View the Reading Arts Autumn 2024 What's On Brochure HERE
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Plan your conference or meeting
The Town Hall enjoys a regional and national reputation for professional venue hire and event management, hosting a range of high profile events.
This versatile building can accommodate most types of business function, catering for anything from a 1 to 1 meeting in our Marcus Adams Room up to a 700 person conference in our Concert Hall, perhaps making use of our other rooms for breakout sessions, smaller meetings or refreshment areas and everything in between.
We offer a professional, flexible service with quality catering and modern technology available at a competitive price - everything is designed to meet your individual needs.
Spaces can be booked on a room hire basis or on a day delegate rate (subject to agreement).
Contact us for details of our room hire and DDR rates and catering prices.
