The rectangular hall measures by . Natural light permeates from seven high windows on either side of the hall from the courtyards outside. It has a wagon roof, its ceiling divided into panels bearing the arms of countries and towns with which Manchester traded at the zenith of its mercantile power. "The Manchester Murals" by Ford Madox Brown, a sequence of 12 paintings depicting the history of Manchester decorate its walls. They are not true frescoes but use the Gambier Parry process.