Northwest Vision and Media, create the bigger picture
The Magic of St George's Hall
CENTRAL to almost every occasion Liverpool has ever seen, the imposing St George’s Hall in the centre of the city has just re-opened, after years of painstaking restoration.
It makes a fabulous setting for film and TV production, and behind its mighty façade lies a series of secret locations.
“The Hall is just so very versatile. It has a number of locations all in the one building,” explains Kevin Bell, Liverpool Film Officer, who admits to having a certain soft spot for the grand old building.
“There’s crown courts, a large ball room and a concert room, all of which are very spectacular, particularly the concert room, which is beautiful,” he adds.
Known locally as the People’s Palace, the Hall was first opened in 1854. But after years of neglect the splendour of a building Queen Victoria believed ‘worthy of Athens’ fell into disrepair.
After seven years of painstaking work, however, the splendour has been restored, with experts carrying out microscopic paint analysis to create an exact match to the original decoration.
The magnificent St George’s Hall has always been at the heart of political life in the city, but it’s been a spiritual centre too: when John Lennon was shot and killed, over 25,000 people gathered outside for six hours of prayer and music. And whenever footballing glory comes to the town, as it often does, it’s to St George’s Hall that the crowds naturally converge.
And it’s no stranger to film and TV production, either. The Lumeiere Brothers Film, which was the film ever made in Liverpool in 1897, shot the opening scene outside St George’s Hall. The courts at the Hall later played a large roll in the major motion picture In the Name of the Father, staring Daniel Day Lewis and Emily Thompson. More recently it has featured in dramas The Outsiders, Longford, Dead Clever and Casanova.
“St George’s Hall truly deserves the accolade of being named May’s Location of the Month by North West Vision and I look forward to introducing its hidden delights to a whole new generation of filmmakers,” says Kevin.
For years, many Liverpool people have walked past the building without knowing what secrets it held within. But now, thanks to the £23 million make-over and restoration, it has reclaimed its position as one of the finest neoclassical buildings in Europe, a jewel in Liverpool’s architectural crown.
Now housing a visitor heritage centre, concert hall and community exhibition centre, it’s also a unique visitor attraction, with 80,000 visitors expected in the next 12 months.
Officially re-opened on St George’s Day by HRH Prince Charles, the building not only has a Royal seal of approval, but enjoys public adoration, too.
St George’s Hall stands 169ft long and 74ft wide, with columns of purple-red granite, and a tunnel vaulted ceiling – the largest of its kind in Europe. The ceiling is supported on massive red granite columns, with figures portraying qualities Victorian Liverpool aspired to – art, science, fortitude and justice.
Behind the gold leaf and porticoes the Hall has one of the greatest brick arches in the world and houses a priceless mosaic floor of 30,000 tiles. When the unique Minton tiled floor was uncovered to mark the Hall’s centenary in 1954, more than 100,000 people queued to see it.
The Hall is also home to a massive concert organ complete with 7,000 pipes. It was once the biggest in the world – until the Royal Albert Hall took on that mantle. But it’s still magnificent.
Whatever the event, or occasion, St George’s Hall will not be upstaged.
