A play at Hoxton Hall pic: Annette, RichardArmitageOnline

The Hoxton Hall has received a grant of £1.8m that will enable the historic Grade II listed building to become a youth centre, theatre and heritage tourist destination.

The grant comes from the Heritage Lottery Fund and will provide the necessary funds to refurbish the original 149-year-old building, and update its facilities for use as a Young Hackney Centre.

Hoxton Hall plans to raise another £425,000 to put towards a total budget of £2.5m which will go towards modernising and renovating some of the hall’s unique original features.

New office space and residential units will also be added to help sustain the costs of running the hall.

A working theatre and performing arts hub for all of its long history, Hoxton Hall currently features a recording and rehearsal rooms, music and dance studio and performance spaces, which it makes available to young people through Hackney and Islington Youth Services.

Hoxton Hall Group Director Haley White said: “This is a landmark day for Hoxton Hall. Now we can really raise the curtain for this beautiful old music hall. We will commence restoring and modernising to ensure the building is fit for purpose for the future and curate a permanent exhibition from our archive unveiling the Culture of the East End, ensuring we can welcome over 40,000 visitors per year. Exciting times!”

On its website, Hoxton Hall lists a three phase plan that explains how the hall plans to use its funding in the next few years to update the hall with modern outfits including a new gallery and professional music studios.

Sue Bowers, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund London, said: “Hoxton Hall is a much-loved historic building which has stood the test of time and remained at the heart of its ever-evolving local community. We thought this was a wonderful project because it not only restores one of the last surviving saloon-style music halls, creating an expanded and vibrant space for people of all ages to use, but also encourages valuable volunteering and training opportunities.”

Built in 1863, Hoxton Hall is one of four remaining Victorian music halls in Britain and boasts a collection of more than 6,000 pieces of theatrical paraphernalia known as “the Archive” that will be digitally restored with a portion of the funding. The site is a world heritage site that attracts more than 40,000 visitors per year.