King's Lynn Arts Centre

The Guildhall of St George stands in King’s Lynn beside the River Great Ouse. Built between 1410 and 1420 for the Guild of St George, it is the largest surviving medieval guildhall in England. The hall occupies a narrow site once part of a burgage plot between King Street and the river. Its brick structure rises two storeys under a hammerbeam roof. The theatre occupies the raised upper floor above a brick-vaulted undercroft. The guildhall has been in continuous use as a public building for more than six centuries. The guildhall is the oldest theatre still operating in the United Kingdom. Records show a nativity play there in January 1445, and Shakespeare is believed to have performed on its stage in 1593 with the Earl of Pembroke’s Men. The building later served as a court house, school, munitions store and warehouse before becoming an arts centre in 1951. Recent discoveries include a wooden floor dated between 1417 and 1430 and a 600-year-old doorway thought to be a Shakespearean dressing room. The site is now managed by King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council under lease from the National Trust. Visitors enter through the historic ground floor where the undercroft wine cellar remains. The upper floor theatre preserves its original hammerbeam roof and raised stage. Converted warehouses in the courtyard now house galleries added in 1963. The building’s narrow plan and riverfront position give views along King Street and the Great Ouse. The guildhall continues to host performances, lectures and festivals, marking its place at the heart of the town’s cultural life.