Weddings, Dinners, Banquets & Conferences
Weddings, Events & Private Hire At The Monastery
Since opening for events in June 2007, The Monastery has hosted weddings, conferences, banquets, private dinners and everything in between — all under the 98-foot arches of a Grade II* Pugin masterpiece, saved for the community by the community.
Whatever you’re planning, the space shapes the occasion. Soaring Gothic arches, stained-glass light, a tranquil cloister Garden and in-house catering that our kitchen calls ‘food cooked with love and served with soul’ — it is a venue unlike anything else in Manchester, and one that our clients tell us they remember for years afterwards.
Weddings
The Great Nave and Private Chapel are licensed for ceremonies, with space for parties from 100 to 450 guests. Wedding dress silhouettes look their best against carved stone, and the tranquil cloister Garden provides a backdrop for photography that you won’t find at any other Manchester venue.
From intimate civil ceremonies through to full-capacity receptions with live music and late-night dancing, our wedding team coordinates every detail — the ceremony, the reception, catering, timings — so you can focus on the day itself.
Corporate Events & Conferences
A dramatic alternative to Manchester’s glass-and-steel conference venues. The Monastery hosts corporate conferences, product launches, summits and award ceremonies for audiences of all sizes, with full AV, in-house catering, and coordination support from a team who has handled events at every scale.
We have hosted spectacular occasions for royal guests, business leaders, international speakers, performers and media stars. The building itself has a way of raising the tone of a meeting — keynotes become more memorable; breakout conversations become easier; the working day feels less like work.
Banquets & Private Dining
Long-table banquets beneath 98 feet of vaulted nave. Candlelit dinners in the cloister Garden. Intimate feasts in the Private Chapel with a chef’s-table menu designed around your guests. Every occasion we host is shaped around the room it takes place in — and the rooms here are extraordinary.
Our kitchen works with Manchester’s best seasonal suppliers, and menus are built around your guests rather than a fixed list. Dietary requirements, specialist menus, multi-faith catering — all routine, not exceptional.
Exclusive Hire
For larger celebrations, brand launches, and occasions that deserve the whole building: full exclusive use of The Monastery, from the Great Nave through to the Private Chapel, cloisters and Garden — yours for the day.
Exclusive hire gives you complete flexibility over layout, catering, timings, and arrival sequences. It also means your guests arrive at a venue with no other activity around them — no overlapping events, no rushing, no compromise.
Heritage Tours & Talks
The Monastery is one of Edward Welby Pugin’s finest surviving works — nicknamed ‘Manchester’s Taj Mahal’ by those who know it. Our heritage team runs guided tours that walk visitors through the building’s history, architecture, rescue from near-demolition, and the ongoing work of our Charitable Trust.
Tours suit groups, private parties, schools, and heritage societies. Talks can be arranged on request, covering Victorian Gothic architecture, Franciscan history, or the Monastery’s role in Manchester’s social history.
Awards & Recognition
Rescued from near-demolition by Paul and Elaine Griffiths with volunteers from the local community in the 1990s, The Monastery was named by the World Monuments Fund as one of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world — and has since gone on to become one of the UK’s largest community-led heritage restoration projects.
Today it is an internationally recognised, multi-award-winning venue, honoured for heritage, conservation, community impact, and accessibility. A place that remembers where it came from, and that our team is proud to run.
Accept Our Invitation
To discuss holding your wedding, event, conference or private celebration at The Monastery, contact our events team to arrange a personal welcome tour.
Call 0161 223 3211 or email [email protected].
We would love you to visit us. You’ll be sure of a warm welcome, and we know you’ll enjoy the time you spend with us.