God's House Tower

About God's House Tower

A Grade I listed medieval gatehouse and tower in Southampton's Old Town, opposite Town Quay, now run as an arts and heritage venue with galleries, a café and bar, and rooms for hire. Its hire spaces suit meetings, workshops and receptions of up to about 55 people standing.

• Paid parking
• Step free
• Accessible loos
• Breakfast

Finding the door

Main entrance on Town Quay Road: the large wooden doors with the Southampton mural, into the café and bar

Staff greet visitors at the front desk just inside the main doors. The café and bar (the first room you enter) seats 25 or holds 40 standing; the Main Gallery on the first floor (by lift) holds 40 seated or 55 standing. A second, step-free entrance is through the courtyard opposite the bowling green. Scaffolding was up on the exterior at the time of checking.

Parking

No visitor car park of its own. The venue names Gloucester Square and Mayflower Park as its closest car parks, with a step-free route from both; Ocean Village and WestQuay are about 10 minutes' walk. Blue Badge holders can park free on Winkle Street, about 10 metres from the main entrance.

• Gloucester Square car park

  Nearby · 2 min walk · 78 spaces

• Mayflower Park car park

  Nearby

  Council proposal (Oct 2025) for pay on foot: 2 hrs £1.50, 4 hrs £3.00, 6 hrs £4.50, 8 hrs £8.00, all day £12.00, charged 08:00–midnight. Before that it was £1.50 per 2 hours only.

  Proposed 05:30–midnight (barrier controlled)

Getting here

About 20 minutes' walk from Southampton Central station (the venue's figure): head into the city centre and down the High Street towards Town Quay. Buses stop on Town Quay Road right outside, and the Red Funnel and Red Jet Isle of Wight ferry terminals are a few minutes' walk away.

• Bike rack on Lower Canal Walk next to the building

  Named by the venue; OpenStreetMap shows 4 stands here and 8 more by the east side of the building.

• Blue Badge parking on Winkle Street

  Free for Blue Badge holders, about 10 metres from the main entrance (venue's accessibility page).

• Town Quay Platform Tavern (Stop TD) · 1 min walk

  19, 19a, SS2, Unilink U1C, U1N

• Town Quay Platform Tavern (Stop TC) · 1 min walk

  19, 19a, Unilink U1A, U1E, U1N

• Town Quay Red Funnel Terminal (Stop TA) · 1 min walk

  QC, SS2

• Town Quay Telephone House (Stop TE) · 2 min walk

  19, 19a, QC, Unilink U1A, U1E, U1N

• Southampton Central · 20 min walk

  South Western Railway, Great Western Railway, Southern, CrossCountry

  The venue gives the walk as about 20 minutes, via the High Street towards Town Quay.

Inside

Access: Step-free through the main entrance into the café, with a lift to the mezzanine Project Space and first-floor Main Gallery. A ramp is available for the small step from the courtyard entrance. The Crawford Room, the tower and the rooftop are not step-free. Accessible toilet on the ground floor. Assistance dogs welcome; large-print guides and descriptive tours on request. Cobbles and narrow pavements on Winkle Street.

Toilets

Ground floor, at the far end of the building next to the reading area (accessible toilet included)

Food and drink

Ground-floor café and bar with drinks and food from local suppliers; outside caterers can be arranged for hire events. The October 2026 hospitality breakfast includes a light breakfast.