Venue hire
Hire the Burgess Foundation for your event
We are delighted to be taking event bookings for the autumn of 2020 following our reopening on Tuesday 15 September. For your safety, things will look a little different (limited capacity, distancing measures, extra cleaning regimes), but you can be assured of our usual quality event service.
The International Anthony Burgess Foundation is a unique venue within one of Manchester’s oldest mill buildings. The high-quality conversion retains original architectural features – plenty of brickwork akin to a New York comedy club – and houses Burgess’s own furniture and musical instruments to create a distinctive location for your event. (Want to see? Jump to the pictures at the bottom of the page.)
Along with the old, we also have the new: you will find modern audio-visual facilities on hand to bring your event to life. Usual capacity is up to 100 people, depending on how you want to set up, but during Covid distancing, capacity is between 20 and 30 depending on the mix of tickets sold. (Ready to request a hire? Scroll down and fill in our quick request form – or click here.)
We also have a café bar which is perfect for a relaxed location for your audience or guests before they move into the main venue. Refreshments and catering can be provided and we offer meals and drinks receptions, tea, coffee, cakes and snacks to suit all budgets. We can recommend the roasted veg and hummus sandwiches!
The Engine House is ideal for concerts, readings, conferences, launches, plays, workshops, away-days, lectures, film screenings, discussion and in-conversation events as well as receptions, lunches and private parties.
A note about Covid-19 restrictions: We are currently not able to offer a bar service due to Manchester’s Tier 3 status. If you do want to run an audience event, it might be best to wait until coronavirus restrictions have eased. However, non-audience bookings for online performances and workshops, and use of our space for rehearsals and video / photography shoots, are working well under Covid-19 regulations. Ask us how we can make this kind of booking work for you.
We have an experienced and friendly team who will help your event run smoothly. Details of our facilities can be found beneath the video below. Tell us about your event requirements – scroll down this page and fill in our quick request form. If you want to talk about your event further, please contact Ian Carrington on events@anthonyburgess.org or call 0161 235 0776.
We have recently hosted events with (deep breath): Psappha, Manchester Pride, Kei Miller, Elif Shafak, Howard Jacobson, Alex Bellos, Olivia Laing, Chuck Palahniuk, Jonathan Meades, Hollie McNish and Henry Normal. We have also hosted conferences, workshops and away-days for The British Council, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester City Council, the Arts Marketing Association and the Performing Arts Network and Development Agency (PANDA), plus featured as a venue for the Manchester Literature Festival, Manchester Gothic Festival and Manchester Science Festival.
View our Dropbox gallery to see more – or scroll down this page. Download our tech list here: International Anthony Burgess Foundation tech list 2016 (PDF). Download a list of frequently asked questions here (includes, you’ll be pleased to know,
answers): FAQs (PDF)
And now, a useful form…
Click here to hire us via: Big Venue Book | Meetings Booker