Breathing new life into Haberdashers’ Hall

The fourth Haberdashers’ Hall recently celebrated her 22nd birthday. Whilst this milestone is cause for celebration, it was clear, that she advances in year, she was also in need of a little tender loving care.

The refurbishment of Haberdashers’ Hall has largely revolved around three interlinking projects.

• Replacement of Mechanical and Electrical (M&E) Plant. This involved the replacement of most of the air handling systems in the Hall. Consequently, the gas boilers in the basement have been removed and air source heat pumps have been installed on the roof. The fans in the ceiling of the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Hall have been replaced, new ducting has been installed in many locations, and new heating/cooling systems have been installed in the offices. As part of this overall programme, the wooden floor in the Hall has been sanded and revarnished, the carpets have been replaced in the Court Room, Committee Room, Reception Gallery and the East Wing, new power points have been fitted into the floor of the Court Room and Committee Room, and the walls have been repainted. All the art was removed during the process and has now been rehung.
• Kitchen Refurbishment. The main element has been the removal of all gas fired catering equipment and replacement with new electric equipment. The opportunity was taken to reorganise the layout of the kitchen and servery to optimise it for better service at events. New floor, wall and ceiling coverings have been installed as part of the work.
• Electric Substation. In order to ensure the provision of sufficient power to the new electrical equipment, a new substation has been constructed in the North Courtyard. This will allow a supply of electricity to the Hall independent of Hosier Lane; the existing substation has served both buildings hitherto and will serve Hosier Lane only in the future. The substation is served by a high voltage supply which is run through several large cables from the street, with the main connection being made on the corner next to the Bishops Finger public house.

Regrettably, as is often the way with big building projects, there was a short delay to the re-opening of the Hall by two weeks.

Although the construction of the substation was completed on 14 August as planned, a delay caused by difficulties with the connection of the high voltage supply to the substation, which is conducted by UK Power Networks (UKPN) and their contractors. These contractors are outside the control of both the Company or the Project Managers (TFT), and thus it was not possible to advance the connection to permit opening on time.

UKPN later confirmed a connection date of 20 September.

Commissioning was completed in the week commencing Monday 22 September, and the Hall reopened on 29 September 2025.

The Company would like to pay particular tribute to the Beadle and the Assistant Beadle who were tireless in their oversight of the programme from the Company’s perspective.

The team also ensured that a member of Company staff was present at the Hall every weekend in July and August, in order to allow contractors to continue working over the summer.