Free Trade Hall

Free Trade Hall
The Free Trade Hall
General information
Status	Grade II* listed building
Architectural style	Palazzo
Location	Manchester, England
Construction started	1853
Completed	1856
Design and construction
Architect	Edward Walters

The Free Trade Hall in Peter Street, Manchester, England, was a public hall constructed in 1853–56 on St Peter's Fields, the site of the Peterloo Massacre and is now a Radisson hotel. The hall was built to commemorate the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. The architect was Edward Walters. The hall was owned by the Manchester Corporation. It was bombed in the Manchester Blitz and its interior rebuilt. It was Manchester's premier concert venue until the construction of the Bridgewater Hall in 1996. The hall was designated a Grade II* listed building on 18 December 1963.

The Free Trade Hall was built as a public hall between 1853 and 1856 by Edward Walters on land given by Richard Cobden in St Peter's Fields, the site of the Peterloo Massacre. Two earlier halls had been constructed on the site, the first, a large timber pavilion was built in 1840, and its brick replacement built in 1842. The halls were "vital to Manchester's considerable role in the long campaign for the repeal of the Corn Laws. The hall was funded by public subscription and became a concert hall and home of the Hallé Orchestra in 1858. A red plaque records that it was built on the site of the Peterloo Massacre in 1819.

The Free Trade Hall was bought by Manchester Corporation in 1920; but was bombed and left an empty shell in the Manchester Blitz of December 1940. A new hall was constructed behind two walls of the original facade in 1950–51 by Manchester City Council's architect, L. C. Howitt. opening as a concert hall in 1951. As well as housing the Hallé Orchestra, it was used for pop and rock concerts. A Wurlitzer organ from the Paramount Cinema in Manchester was installed over four years and first used in public in a BBC programme broadcast in September 1977. When the hall closed, the organ, which was on loan, was moved to the great hall in Stockport Town Hall. The Hallé Orchestra moved to the Bridgewater Hall in 1996 and the Free Trade Hall was closed by Manchester City Council.