The Florrie is a Grade II listed Victorian building on Mill Street in Liverpool that hires out five rooms for conferences, meetings, training days, away days and wedding receptions. The largest, the Grand Hall, takes 220 guests cabaret style, 400 in theatre style and 700 standing. Four smaller rooms seat between 16 and 120. The Florrie is a charity, and the income from hire goes to its community work.
Seminars and company events
Each room has a defined use. The Grand Hall suits medium to large conferences, exhibitions and award evenings. It has a large stage, two licensed bars, a PA system, roving microphones, acoustic curtains and blackout capability. The Victorian Gymnasium, with its glass ceiling and retractable tiered seating, is described for medium conferences, large meetings and team-building days.
For smaller groups, the Training Room is laid out with long tables for 24 people, and the Old Library and the Heritage Centre each take 16 around a boardroom table or 30 in theatre style. All bookings include secure Wi-Fi and full audio-visual equipment, with projectors, screens and microphones. Rooms can be set cabaret, theatre or boardroom style before you arrive, and a dedicated events coordinator and tech support are on hand during the event. Breakout rooms, outdoor space and a prayer space are available on request.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings are held in the Grand Hall under a do-it-yourself reception package, with no tiers of packages to choose from. The hall seats up to 220 cabaret style. The Florrie recommends a maximum of 200 guests, or 20 round tables of ten, and notes that fewer tables leave a larger dance floor. The room measures 12.5 by 20.95 meters, and its bay windows face the River Mersey.
Couples get access to the hall between 10 am and 5 pm the day before to style it, within the limits of the listing: no naked flames and nothing fixed to the walls. Bands, DJs and entertainers bring all of their own equipment. The Florrie does not provide a pre-wedding coordinator, but it assigns an events coordinator for the day itself. Last orders are at 11:30 pm and the event ends at midnight.
Rooms and capacities
The Grand Hall holds 220 cabaret, 400 theatre and 700 standing. The Victorian Gymnasium holds 90 cabaret, 120 theatre and 360 standing, with retractable tiered seating. The Training Room seats 24. The Old Library and the Heritage Centre take 16 boardroom style or 30 theatre style, and the Heritage Centre has a built-in projector and a dividing curtain that splits it in two.
Catering
The Florrie has its own chef and in-house catering team, with buffet menus priced per person that cover vegetarian, vegan and halal diets and most allergies. For weddings, the team can also supply a drinks package or let you bring your own wine and sparkling wine with corkage. Clients may hire their own caterer, who then rents the kitchen and brings all equipment, insurance and hygiene certificates.
History and setting
The Florence Institute for Boys opened in 1889, built by the philanthropist and Mayor of Liverpool Bernard Hall and named after his daughter Florence. It became a center for local sport, from gymnastics to boxing, and Gerry Marsden gave an early gig in the Grand Hall. The building closed in the late 1980s and fell into disrepair before reopening as the community charity it is today.
Getting there
The Florrie stands at 377 Mill Street, Liverpool L8 4RF, just outside the city center. The building is fully accessible with lifts and disabled parking, and there is a car park, street parking and a bike area. Office hours are 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday.
