Storyhouse Chester
Storyhouse Chester is a fantastic venue in the heart of Chester city centre. It is a theatre, cinema, libray and cafe all under one roof. It’s a great place to visit with kids and I’ll explain why more below. Find more Family days out North West England here.
Where is Storyhouse?
Storyhouse is located in the centre of Chester. As such there is no dedicated parking but there are lots of city centre car parks and park and ride options to choose from.
The address is Storyhouse, Hunter St, Chester, CH1 2AR.
It’s in the heart of Chester, not far from Chester Cathedral, the shops and Chester Market and other restaurants.
Storyhouse Theatre
There are 2 theatres at Storyhouse. There is the main theatre where we were lucky enough to watch the first performance of The Parent Agency. It’s a fantastic theatre space with comfy seating and great views of the stage.
There is a smaller theatre in the roof space. This is Garret Theatre and it often shows children’s shows and music gigs.
Find the upcoming shows here – THEATRES | Storyhouse
There is also an open air theatre venue in the summer in Grovesnor Park.
Find out more in my guide to Outdoor theatre Cheshire here.
Storyhouse Cinema
This is an independent cinema with a hand-picked small selection of films.
Storyhouse Adult library
The library is part of Chester and Cheshire West libraries so it offers the services you would expect from a library and the opening hours are fantastic.
The adult books are over 2 floors and I love how a lot of them are around the edge of the cafe so you can browse the books and even sit and read some of them over a coffee.
There are also computers and co-working spaces upstairs as well as rooms that can be booked such as for book clubs etc.
Storyhouse Children’s library
The children’s library is a lovely space on the ground floor with really imaginative decor that will appeal to children. There is a fantastic collection of books and plenty of seating areas where you can read a book.
They run plenty of free family events like rhyme time and crafty weekends.
Events at Storyhouse Chester
As well as theatre and cinema, Storyhouse runs over community events in the space.
You can find the full list of upcoming events here – What’s on | Storyhouse
I try to add all their family events to my Family events North West guides.
The Kitchen at Storyhouse
The Kitchen is their cafe and bar. They try to serve as much locally sourced products as possible. The menu looks delicious. I didn’t see a kids menu though and with two fuss kids to please we ended up getting pizza’s nearby on our visit.
Find out more here – The Kitchen
Facilities and accessibility at Storyhouse
You can tell that accessibility is important to them and as such there is wheelchair access and lifts to all areas. There are toilets including accessible ones on every floor and also a changing places toilet on the ground floor.
You can find out all about their accessability including hearing assistance, relaxed screenings and more here – Access | Storyhouse
Our verdict
We have visited Storyhouse a few times over the years and we love it. It’s such a beautiful building and social space. I think more towns and cities need a space like this!
Nearby things to do
I haven’t got a guide to things to do in Chester city centre with kids yet.
BeWILDerwood is a short drive away. Find our review here – BeWILDerwood Cheshire review
You could also drive over to Delamere and enjoy a family walk – Delamere forest walks
Storyhouse is a great place to visit in the rain. Find more Things to do in Cheshire in the rain here.
