Venue Description

The History of the Hub

This historic, Grade A listed building forms an integral part of the architectural fabric of Edinburgh. It was constructed between 1842 and 1845 as the Victoria Hall to house the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The architects were James Gillespie Graham and Augustus Welby Pugin, famous for his work on the Houses of Parliament.

The Hub’s spire is the highest point in central Edinburgh. Curiously the building was never consecrated as a Church.

In 1929 the Church of Scotland ceased to use the building and it became a temporary home for a variety of congregations. It was named the Highland Tolbooth St John’s Church in 1956, before falling into disuse in the 1980s.

The Hub Today

In 1999, the building was transformed into The Hub, the offices and a performance space for the Edinburgh International Festival. The building is a stunning combination of award winning contemporary design and classic Victorian architecture.

As well as accommodating various events during the International Festival each year, The Hub offers a truly unique and spectacular space for a variety of events, including conferences, banquets, weddings, educational workings and exhibitions.

Located on the ground floor of The Hub is Cafe Hub an extensive Cafe suitable for large groups with a terrace which bursts into life in the summer months. Hub Tickets, also located on the ground floor sells tickets for events throughout the country all year round.

Accessibility

The front entrance of The Hub is ramped and there is level access to our outdoor terrace. On entering the building there is one set of automatic doors and one set of non-automatic doors. Our Ground floor has level access to Cafe Hub, which is accessible and Hub tickets, also accessible. There is one accessible toilet facility on our Ground floor. From our ground floor there are five steps leading to our Sculpture Hall. There is a wheelchair lift which bypasses these steps. This does have a weight restriction (225kg). There is an accessible toilet facility on this level. This is the end of the public space within The Hub. The rest of the building is a private event space. From our sculpture hall there is a passenger lift which goes to our 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th floor from our ground floor. The lift has level announcements and the buttons are at an accessible height with braille on them. On our first floor there are two room, our Main Hall and Dunard Library. Our Main Hall has level access from the lift. Our Dunard Library has two steps entering it however there is a ramped corridor going from the Main Hall into the Library. There is an accessible ladies toilet on this floor. Our Gallery is on the 2nd floor. The Main area of the Gallery has level access from the lift. The aisles of the gallery are not accessible. There is an accessible toilet facility on this floor. We have a small meeting room on our 3rd floor. This room has level access from the lift. Our fourth floor is private office space.

Toilets

The Hub has four accessible toilets on the premises. They all have grab rails and cord alarms. They are located on the ground floor, sculpture hall, 1st floor (ladies only) and 2nd floor. Our Ground floor toilet is the only accessible toilet available to Cafe Hub and Hub Tickets customers. The rest are available in our private event space.

Staff

Information about the staff has not been added for this venue.