St George's Hall, Liverpool

The site of the hall was formerly occupied by the first Liverpool Infirmary from 1749 to 1824. Triennial music festivals were held in the city but there was no suitable hall to accommodate them. Following a public meeting in 1836 a company was formed to raise subscriptions for a hall in Liverpool to be used for the festivals, and for meetings, dinners and concerts. Shares were made available at £25 each and by January 1837 £23,350 () had been raised. In 1838 the foundation stone was laid to commemorate the coronation of Queen Victoria. By July more than eighty entries had been received, and the competition was won by Harvey Lonsdale Elmes, a London architect aged 25 years, the second prize…

The main entrance crosses a corridor and leads into the Great Hall. This measures 169 ft by 77 ft and is 82 ft high. The inspiration for the Great Hall are the Baths of Caracalla. The roof is a tunnel vault, built of hollow brick was designed by Robert Rawlinson completed 1849, it is carried on eight columns, 18 ft in height, of polished red Cairngall granite, these reduce the span to 65 ft, the spandrels contain allegorical plaster work angels, twelve in total, designed by Cockerell, representing fortitude, prudence, science, art, justice and temperance etc. The vault also decorated with plaster work by Cockerell, contains coffering, the centres of the main coffers have coat of arms of…