Free Trade Hall on Peter Street , Manchester , England , was a public hall , constructed in 1853 – 56 on St Peter ’s Fields , the site of the Peterloo Massacre . It is now a Radisson hotel . The hall was built to commemorate the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 . The architect was Edward Walters . The hall was owned by the Manchester Corporation . It was bombed in the Manchester Blitz and its interior rebuilt and was Manchester 's premier concert venue until the construction of the Bridgewater Hall in 1996 . The hall was designated a Grade II The Free Trade Hall was built as a public hall between 1853 and 1856 by Edward Walters on land given by Richard Cobden in St Peter 's Fields , the site of the Peterloo Massacre . Two earlier halls had been constructed on the site , the first , a large timber pavilion was built in 1840 , and its brick replacement built in 1842 . The halls were " vital to Manchester 's considerable role in the long campaign for the repeal of the Corn Laws . The hall was funded by public subscription and became a concert hall and home of the Hallé Orchestra in 1858 . A red plaque records that it was built on the site of the Peterloo Massacre in 1819
Peterloo Massacre
Peterloo Massacre
Free Trade Hall