The curtain has risen on Paisley’s grand stage, where a renowned architectural treasure has been converted into a top-tier venue, standing out as one of Scotland’s finest spaces for performances.
This venue, steeped in history and rich in character, has been transformed into a premier destination for top-notch shows and performances. Additionally, Paisley Town Hall offers rental opportunities for your significant events, including weddings and corporate gatherings.
Positioned in the core of Paisley town, the venue boasts a prime location with easy access to local amenities. It is conveniently connected by the M8 motorway, a mere 20-minute drive from Glasgow City Centre and 8 minutes from Glasgow Airport. The accessibility is further enhanced by excellent train and bus services, with Paisley Gilmour Street station just a five-minute walk away.
The information below was posted during its transformation.
It’s been a while since we gave you a behind-the-scenes look at the ongoing transformation of Paisley Town Hall – but here’s how the building is currently shaping up.
The work we’re doing will turn inside of this much-loved 140-year-old building into a landmark entertainment venue, and keep it at the heart of local life for future generations.
It includes increasing the main-hall capacity, adding new rooms and uses, installing modern performance and back-of-house facilities, and transforming the audience experience, while preserving the classic architectural features that make Paisley Town Hall so special.
Most of the heavy construction work and alterations to rooms have now been completed. That includes a full replacement of the outdated mechanical and electrical systems, with the building now close to being fully rewired.
Here’s what you can see in the pictures:
- The iconic main hall (viewed from the top balcony and from above the stage area) where, as you can see, the architectural detail in the ceiling has been painstakingly restored
- The new digital lounge (the former North Minor Hall) which will be fitted out with a big screen and seating to allow small screenings and other events
- The former Alexander Wilson Suite where workers have lifted, repaired, and are now reinstalling the old wooden floor from the main hall
- The new dance studio, a new room created in formerly-empty space on the first floor, with views out on to Gauze Street
- The Loggia, which has had its ceiling repaired and will shortly see a new floor installed
- The new bar, in a room previously used as a store, with great views out over the river and Abbey Gardens
We also took a trip up the clock tower for some views you might never have seen before – looking out over the town centre from the back of the building, what you can see through the tower windows, and the view inside the clock itself!
Over the next few months, we and our contractors Morrison Construction will be finishing off the construction, which is due to be complete in the summer.
After that we’ll hand the empty building over to our colleagues at OneRen who will fit it out with furniture, fixtures and equipment, and get the building and its staff ready to open its doors to the public.
The town hall will be reopen in time to host the Royal National Mod (Scotland’s largest celebration of Gaelic culture) in October. After that, OneRen will have an exciting programme of events which will help drive new activity and footfall to the town centre.
The work is part of our much bigger investment in Paisley’s cultural venues, which includes the transformation of Paisley Museum into a world-class visitor destination, a refurbishment of Paisley Arts Centre, and a new home for library services in a formerly vacant retail unit on the High Street.
PAISLEY TOWN HALL
Paisley Town Hall is a popular entertainment and conference venue that is host to a variety of concerts, shows and conferences. The main auditorium of the building can seat up to 750 people with a balcony, gallery and stalls area. A resident technician and a team of experienced staff are on hand to ensure the success of your event.
Paisley Town Hall History: In 1873 George A.Clark, a member of the famous thread family, left £20,000 in his will to build a Town Hall in his native Paisley.
A site was found next to the Abbey which was suitable under the terms of the will; the hall was to be in the New Town, east of the Cart, where George Clark had been born and where his family’s thread mills were.
The George A. Clark Town Hall was officially opened in January 1882 among great celebrations. A procession made its way through the decorated streets, and at night there was a firework display from the High Church steeple.
The impressive building became a landmark in Paisley. The taller of the two towers, with its sculptured figures representing the four seasons, housed a clock and a chime of bells which could play a different tune for every day of the month.
The many rooms of the Town Hall proved ideal for meetings and social events. By the 1980s, however, the chimes no longer worked and the halls and rooms were shabby and run-down. Plans for repair and modernisation were drawn up.
By 1988, in time for the celebration of Paisley 500, the chiming mechanism in the bell-tower was restored. In 1990 work began on renovating the interior of the building, and as this continues we can see the Town Hall, over a hundred years old, ready to plan its full part again in Paisley life.
Abbey Close Paisley
PA1 1JF
Tel: 0300 300 1210