St Mary's Guildhall

St Mary's Guildhall is one of the finest medieval guildhalls in England. It has stood at the heart of Coventry for over 650 years and witnessed events of both national and local importance.

St Mary's Guildhall served as the centre of King Henry VI's court during the Wars of the Roses and as a prison to Mary, Queen of Scots. William Shakespeare is thought to have staged his plays here and writer George Elliot, who knew the hall well, used it as the setting for a scene in one of her novels. Its kitchens have prepared banquets for visiting monarchs and have fed starving weavers. It has been the good-humoured starting point for the famous Godiva Processions and been damaged in violent election riots. It was scarred by, but survived, the Blitz of Coventry during the Second World War and it continues to this day to welcome visitors from all over the world.

Location

The entrance to St Mary's Hall is on Bayley Lane which runs on the south side of the ruins of the 'old' Coventry Cathedral. Passing through the fine outer porch, with its elaborate vaulting and original 15th century gates, you will come to the Courtyard, from where one enters the 'cloister' on the left to gain access to the main Guildhall interiors. Follow the link to the St Mary's Hall location map.

Opening hours 2008

St. Mary's Guildhall is open from Sunday 23 March to Sunday 28 September 2008, Sunday to Thursday, 10:00am to 4:00pm (closed on Friday and Saturday except for Godiva's in the undercroft on Fridays).

Please note that the Guildhall will be closed to visitors on Sunday 20 April, and Thursday 15 May 2008.

Admission Free

To download our current leaflet, please click on the link at the bottom of the page

Accessibility

St Mary's Guildhall is partly accessible to people with wheelchairs. There is a stairlift to the Great Hall and another within the Great Hall to access the Tapestry, wih staff available to give assistance if required. The Ante Room, Armoury, Minstrels' Gallery and Mary Queen of Scots Room are unfortunately not accessible to wheelchairs.

Weddings, Functions and Meeting Room Hire

The Guildhall is a spectacular venue for your event, with rooms licensed for civil wedding ceremonies, and available for wedding receptions, private functions, conferences, seminars, and meetings. For more information on weddings, venue hire and catering facilities, please see the links on the right.

Godiva's in the Undercroft

Godiva's is our popular restaurant and cafe located in the 14th century undercroft of St. Mary's Guildhall and offers a wonderful, historic setting for morning coffee, lunch or afternoon tea. Entrance is from Bayley Lane and the stairs to the restaurant are in the far right hand corner of the courtyard. There is disabled access and staff will gladly assist with wheelchairs or baby buggies.

We are open from 10.00am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday with hot meals served between 12noon and 2.00pm.

Follow the link to find out more about Godiva's in the Undercroft.