Our Venues
Lichfield Arts uses a wide variety of venues across the city of Lichfield for our concerts, events, community festivals and outreach projects. Although the organisation doesn’t have a venue of its own, this enables us to utilize a varied selection of venues that the city has to offer, and we are extremely grateful to the various organisations, local authorities and business owners who allow us to offer an equally varied programme of concerts and events in these venues.
Lichfield Guildhall
Our main venue for concerts is the historic Guildhall on Bore Street, right in the centre of Lichfield. This beautiful and recently refurbished venue is run and maintained by Lichfield City Council. With their support we are able to offer a wide range of artists, with a variety of seating arrangements to suit the style of concert, in this grand and ideally located venue.
The Guildhall was built in the early 1700s on the site of the previous Guildhall dating from the 1300s. Most of the present ground floor, and the rooms on the first and second floor level date from the 1740s.
At the north end of the main hall there is a large stone tracery stained-glass window. This was originally in the north transept of the Cathedral and was transferred to the guildhall in 1891. This main room is 87 ft long by 25 ft wide and, with its high pitched roof and hammer beams, has a fine medieval appearance.
With a licensed bar, superb acoustics and a warm welcome from our enthusiastic team of volunteers, the Guildhall is the ideal place to enjoy our high quality concerts.
Sandfields Pumping Station
In the Black Country, an area of rapid industrial growth in the 18th and 19th centuries, the problem of finding sources of uncontaminated water was exacerbated by the ruthless nature of the mining for coal. Sandfields Pumping Station was built t o supply fresh clean water from impounded streams and springs in the vicinity of Lichfield, which was an area unaffected by the ravages of industrialisation.
The Sandfields pumping station was formally opened by the Earl of Dudley in 1858, and Walsall and Wednesbury received the first supplies of water. By 1869 some 20,000 houses were being supplied with Lichfield water. The South Staffordshire Waterworks Company would grow to become one of the largest water supply companies in England and Wales.
In 1873 an additional engine house was built to accommodate a Cornish pumping engine. This impressive beam pumping engine still exists at Sandfields Pumping Station.
Lichfield Waterworks Trust was formed in 2015 to save the derelict pumping station and steam engine, and since that time its volunteers have cleaned, maintained and researched the building and engine, actively preserving and promoting one of the most important architectural, industrial and social heritage sites in the city. Lichfield Arts are delighted to use this industrial, historically significant and unique venue for events.
Beacon Park
Beacon Park is set in more than 70 acres of beautiful gardens and open space within easy reach of the city centre. The park is maintained by Lichfield District Council and has many sporting and recreational facilities for use by the public, including an 18 hole golf course, football pitches, tennis courts and bowling greens. Beacon Park is also steeped in history and heritage and is home to many monuments, most notably a large bronze statue of Captain Smith of the RMS Titanic.
Each July Beacon Park becomes home to Fuse, Lichfield Arts three day community festival, one of the biggest free to attend events of its kind in the Midlands. This much loved event combines live musical concerts, community outreach projects, dance and other attractions. With an average of 18,000 visitors to Fuse each year, it is Lichfield Arts biggest event and provides a welcome boost to the local economy as well as encouraging the community to come together and be inspired by the arts.
The Hub at St Mary’s
The Hub at St Mary’s is a new multi-use arts & heritage venue in the centre of Lichfield. Dedicated to providing Lichfield with a welcoming, inclusive and thriving community venue in the centre of town it offers a diverse program of high quality Arts. The Hub is a fully accessible venue dedicated to promoting activities for young people and families and is committed to showcasing diverse work from people from all backgrounds. The Hub is also available for hire for both events and celebrations and as a venue is an exciting addition to Lichfield Arts.
The Cathedral Hotel
The Cathedral Hotel on Beacon Street is the ideal place to host the Lichfield Arts Blues & Jazz Festival.
The Cathedral Hotel was originally a coaching inn – there is an arched window in the bar area which used to be the entrance to the hotel. As a hotel, the building has a long and successful trading history stretching back to the early 1970s.
As well as hosting many of the events within the Blues & Jazz festival programme, the hotel also provides the venue for monthly Jazz concerts in partnership with Lichfield Jazz.
Wade Street Church
Wade Street Church is another great venue in the heart of our community which is used annually by over twenty voluntary sector groups, including Lichfield Arts.
The church with its beautiful main hall is run by a diverse and enthusiastic group of people, who enjoy being involved in the life of the community and understand the importance of bringing the community together in the beautiful city of Lichfield.
The welcoming and conveniently located venue is a perfect place to enjoy live music.
Lichfield Cathedral
The beautiful Lichfield Cathedral has hosted several Lichfield Arts concerts in recent years, and has often been the venue for the headlining artist at L2F – The Lichfield Festival of Folk. Attracting huge numbers of visitors to the city each year, the Cathedral is more than a place of worship. As well as its incredible architecture and major historical significance, the setting is ideal for professional concerts with appropriate artists. When combined with the sophisticated lighting and sound equipment Lichfield Arts concerts are well respected for, the on stage performances create a stunning atmosphere not to be missed.
The original Cathedral, of which few traces remain, was built after the invasion of 1066. A century later that was rebuilt in the Gothic style, and completed by the mid 1300s.
The interior was rearranged at the end of the eighteenth century, and then restored in the eighteenth century, and that is the Cathedral we have today. The only English medieval cathedral to have three spires, it is one of the most elegant in the country.
Artists who have performed at Lichfield Arts concerts in the Cathedral in recent years include: The Oysterband, Jon Boden, The Blues Band and Steve Knightley.