Meeting Manchester: Petersfield

13th February 2018

Petersfield is also known as Manchester’s conference district thanks to its high concentration of conference venues and facilities. Centrally located next to the Civic Quarter, the area is easily accessible via Deansgate-Castlefield tram stop, Deansgate train station and is a short walk from the city centre. It’s also served well by the Metroshuttle, Manchester’s free city-centre bus.

As well as being a comprehensive meetings destination, the area is also rich in historical significance, where you can find some of the city’s most striking Victorian and Edwardian era buildings. Take a look at some of the venues available in Petersfield and discover the history behind your next conference or event.

Manchester Central

An iconic city feature for over 130 years, Manchester’s landmark conference and exhibitions space is easily identified by its vaulted arches and station clock.

The venue is named after the former railway station that served the city for nearly 90 years. It then became one of Manchester’s main music venues, hosting concerts from artists including The Smiths, Arctic Monkeys and Status Quo. Reopened as Manchester Central by Queen Elizabeth II in 1986, the centre has hosted political conferences; trade shows; huge international conferences like the 2016 EuroScience Open Forum, live television including The X Factor and Ninja Warrior UK; and public events like Manchester Comic Con and Manchester Beer & Cider Festival.

Manchester Central’s facilities include a purpose-built 804-seat Exchange Auditorium; a 1800m² exhibition, conference or 1200-capacity dining space; a 10,000m² column-free and divisible Central Hall; and a range of smaller state-of-the-art conference and meeting rooms.

The Midland Hotel

The meeting place of Charles Rolls and Frederick Royce, who together founded the Rolls-Royce car, and where David and Victoria Beckham had their first date, this hotel has a reputation for famous pairings.

It hosted the Queen Mother for dinner when the Royal Variety was held at the Palace Theatre; and famously turned away The Beatles from hotel restaurant The French for being ‘inappropriately dressed’.

Built in 1903 to serve Central Railway Station, the historic hotel has survived both wars and remains an iconic building through the cities transformation. It can host up to 740 people for events in its largest suite, offering 13 meetings and events spaces alongside its four-star hotel, a bar and a 4 AA Rosette restaurant.

The Beetham Tower

Standing at 169m tall, Manchester’s first true skyscraper is hard to miss! The Beetham Tower has been an instantly recognisable feature on the Manchester skyline since 2006.

Inside you can enjoy panoramic views over Greater Manchester and beyond at champagne and cocktail bar Cloud 23, the highest public venue in the city.

The building also houses Hilton Manchester Deansgate, a vibrant four-star hotel with versatile event spaces including fourteen meeting rooms for up to 90 delegates; and the Deansgate Suite for up to 700 guests, divisable into three unique spaces.

The Great Northern

This comprehensive leisure destination is a local favourite and the perfect spot for evening unwinding. Here you can find everything from bars and restaurants, bowling, a casino, a cinema, a gym, and even axe throwing.

Completed by the Great Northern Railway in 1899, this building was once one of the largest and most advanced railway goods exchanges in the country, built to support the huge volume of goods brought into Central Station.

Radisson Blu Edwardian

Offering 25 different meetings and event spaces, the Radisson Blu Edwardian can hold up to 550 people for banquets, receptions and meetings alongside fine dining at its restaurants; Opus One or Steak and Lobster. The five-star hotel offers 263 superb rooms, including two presidential suites and 18 deluxe Al Fresco rooms.

Originally built as Manchester’s Free Trade Hall in 1853 to commemorate the repeal of the Corn Laws, this historic building has been bombed, abandoned and rebuilt, and was the location of a protest by the Suffragettes who interrupted a political meeting resulting in their arrest.

With a long history in music, starting when the Hallé orchestra made it their home in 1858, it is noted for Bob Dylan’s infamous ‘Judas!’ gig, and the start of the Punk era when a Sex Pistols gig held here inspired the likes of Morrisey, The Buzzcocks and Joy Division.

Bridgewater Hall

With over 250 performances a year, the Bridgewater Hall houses concerts, opera and orchestra and has been home to the Hallé orchestra since 1996. The building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II and was constructed on springs to reduce vibration from passing trams and to preserve the acoustics of the building.

The hall’s focus point is the impressive custom designed Marcussen organ, which is the largest instrument of its kind installed in Britain for almost a century, featuring 5,500 pipes.

The hall holds up to 1,875 people in the theatre and 500 in its reception space, with the ability to host delegates and exhibitions across its five events spaces of varying sizes.

Petersfield History: The Peterloo Massacre

Petersfield gets its name from the original St. Peter’s Fields, which were the location of a historic political event known as the Peterloo Massacre.

On 16 August 1819, a peaceful crowd of around 60,000 protesters gathered to listen to anti-poverty speakers and to protest the fact that only 2% of the population had the right to vote. Fearing a revolution, magistrates ordered armed Yeomanry to charge the crowd; injuring 700 and killing 18 people.

In the aftermath The Manchester Guardian was founded as a pro-democracy platform, a newspaper which is today published nationally as The Guardian. The events of Peterloo were critical to shaping modern democracy, and placed Manchester on the map as a catalyst of radical movements.