Venue Description

St Cecilia's Hall Concert Room and Music Museum is Scotland's oldest purpose-built concert hall. Now home to the University of Edinburgh's musical instrument collection, St Cecilia's Hall is a public museum, open Tuesday-Saturday with free admission, as well as a concert and events venue. St Cecilia’s Hall is proud to be part of The University of Edinburgh. We are part of the Library and University Collections Division of Information Services. The building displays a small portion of Musical Instrument Museums Edinburgh’s 6,000+ collection of historic musical instruments. The emphasis of the Collection is on instruments that are no longer in regular current use and the collecting policy is to acquire instruments when they fall out of use rather than to collect instruments by contemporary makers. The Collection thus covers the period from the 16th century (the earliest period from which examples are available for acquisition) to the 20th century (the most recent date from which instruments can be regarded as historical).

Accessibility

St Cecilia’s Hall: Concert Room & Music Museum is fully accessible and we welcome visitors with different access requirements. Though our museum itself is fully accessible, Niddry Street, where we are located, can pose some challenges as the street is cobbled with narrow pavements. The main entrance to our museum has a slope down towards the automatic front door. Once inside the building all of our galleries are accessible. Mobility scooters and wheelchairs can be accommodated. We have a large lift as an alternative route to our first floor galleries. The lift has a weight maximum of 1875kg and can accommodate a maximum of 25 people. The Binks Gallery, 1812 Gallery and Concert Room have polished wooden floors. There is a stone floor in the lobby and Laigh Hall. The Wolfson Gallery is carpeted. Occasional seating is available throughout the galleries. Assistance dogs are welcome and water is available on request. St Cecilia’s Hall Reception is equipped with induction loops. Hearing aids should be switched to the T position. The Visitor Information leaflet and exhibition labels are available in large print. Verbal description tours run on selected dates throughout the year. Please see the Tours section or email stceciliashall@ed.ac.uk for more information. St Cecilia’s Hall Reception and shop can be found on entry to the museum and is a brightly lit environment that can get very busy.A lot of the décor in the main galleries is wooden, with ceiling spotlights causing patterns and shadows. Toilet facilities are located on the ground floor. The male and female toilets do not have hand dryers, but please note that the accessible toilet does have a sensor-operated hand dryer. Should you have any questions about access to our museum feel free to reach out to us at stceciliashall@ed.ac.uk or visit the accessibility section of our website https://www.stcecilias.ed.ac.uk/visit/#access

Accessibility Guide

Accessibility Guide Link: https://www.stcecilias.ed.ac.uk/visit/

Access Statement

Access Statement Link: https://www.ed.ac.uk/about/website/accessibility/statement

Accessible Performances

We have a new concert series in its pilot year called, 'Quiet Concerts'. These events are designed to reduce some of the sensory stimuli associated with attending concerts including selecting performers who can use quiet instruments, providing a range of different seating options, asking attendees not to clap and providing a dedicated quiet space away from the concert. If you would like to book an event at St Cecilia's Hall or would like to visit the museum but are unsure about any access requirements, please do reach out to a member of the team. We would be more than happy to chat with you about any reasonable accommodations we can make to support your visit. You can contact us by phone on 01316502600 or by email at stceciliashall@ed.ac.uk. Concerts and events run by St Cecilia's Hall (i.e. not run by an external third party) will have a dedicated quiet space away from the main event. We also periodically run BSL-interpreted tours and audio-described tours.

Awards List

Awards: - The RIAS Award for Architecture Winner 2018. - Civic Trust Award Winner for Excellence in the built environment 2019. - Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence Award 2019. - Trip Advisor Traveler's Choice Award Winner 2023. Membership Schemes: - Heritage Lottery Funded. - Recognised as a Nationally Significant Collection by Museums Galleries Scotland and the Scottish Government. - Accredited Museum.

Toilets

There is an accessible toilet located on the ground floor. - The toilet contains both left and right hand lateral transfer space. - There is good maneuvering space. - There is an emergency pull chord alarm. - The width of the accessible toilet door is suitable for wheelchairs. - There are suitable drop-down and support rails for transfer. - The tap type is lever operation. - There is not a coat hook. - The contrast between the grab rails and walls is not good. - The contrast between the walls and floor is good. - The lighting level in the cubicle is good.

Staff

All of our staff are trained in welcoming and assisting visitors with a range of access requirements. All front of house staff have undertaken the Gig Buddies Learning Disability and Autism Awareness training course.

Assistance dog facilities

Assistance dog exercise facilities

Chessel's Court is a 6-minute walk from the museum and has a small enclosed grass garden where dogs can be taken off-lead. We are also a 15-minute walk away from Princes Street Gardens and a 10-minute walk away from Holyrood Park

Other assistance dog facilities

We can provide assistance dogs with water on request.