Cecil Sharp House: gigs, tickets and getting in

Doors open about 30 minutes before the show, most gigs start at 19:30, and you book online with a £2 fee per order. Cecil Sharp House is at 2 Regent's Park Road, NW1 7AY, on the junction with Gloucester Avenue, on the Primrose Hill side of Camden Town. Programme details below are as listed at time of writing, so check the listing before you set off.

What it is

It is the headquarters of the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) and home to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, which Visit London describes as England's national collection of folk music and dance. Skiddle calls it the only dedicated folk arts centre in England. It hosts concerts, festivals, dances, weekly classes and holiday courses, and you do not need to know a single verse of anything to walk in and enjoy it.

The room to know is Kennedy Hall: 252 square metres, a sprung wooden floor, natural light, large chandeliers and a mural by Ivon Hitchens running the length of the hall. It is a proper room to hear music in, not a sticky-floored shed.

A short history

• Built in 1929 and designed by Henry Martineau Fletcher as the home of the English Folk Dance Society, named after its founder Cecil Sharp.
• Officially opened on 7 June 1930.
• In April 1932 the society merged with the Folk Song Society to form the EFDSS, which still owns the House.
• In September 1940 four bombs hit it, destroying the front entrance, the stairwell and the musicians' gallery in the main hall.
• It reopened on 5 June 1951 with a new foyer and an extra floor, with Princess Margaret, then EFDSS president, doing the honours. The gallery was never reinstated, and Hitchens was commissioned to paint the mural in its place.

Historic England lists the building at Grade II, in the London Borough of Camden, on the north side of Regent's Park Road.

What's on

The spring and summer 2026 season, as listed by the EFDSS, includes:

• Songs for the Workers, Thursday 7 May, 19:30
• Trad Night with Jeff Warner, Wednesday 13 May, 19:30
• Jon Boden and The Remnant Kings, Sunday 17 May, 18:30
• Good Habits, Wednesday 27 May, 19:30
• Queer Folk Festival, Saturday 30 May, 13:30
• Kate Griffin and Matchume Zango, Wednesday 3 June, 19:30
• Säwol, Thursday 11 June, 19:30
• Wakefire: An Incantation To Summer, Wednesday 17 June, 20:00

If you only book one, make it Songs for the Workers on 7 May. It marks International Workers' Day and features Peggy Seeger, Jackie Oates, Nick Hart, Jennifer Reid and Francy Devine. Tickets are £24.50 standard and £12.50 for under-30s, and a personal assistant gets a free ticket when you buy an access ticket. The Society for Study of Labour History describes it as a one-off concert.

Beyond gigs, the House runs Morris dancing on Tuesdays and English Country Dancing on Thursdays, but those times come from the autumn listings, so confirm the current schedule first.

Tickets and booking

• Book online through the Book now button on each event. Online orders carry a single £2 fee per transaction; phone bookings carry a single £2.50 fee.
• There are no paper tickets. You get a confirmation email with a sale number, checked at the box office. No need to print it.
• Buy full-price tickets for three or more EFDSS-promoted gigs in one transaction and the code SHARPER takes 20% off.
• Box office and enquiries: 020 7485 2206.

Drinks and food inside

The Bar is a wood-panelled real ale room of about 7m by 4m, serving ales from local brewers Sambrooks, Meantime and Camden Town, plus lagers, wines and spirits. The brewer list may have moved on, so see what is on tap. It is open for many evening events.

The cafe, run with catering partner Pink Food, is usually open Monday to Friday, 10:00 to 17:00, and until 22:00 on Tuesdays. On gig nights it stays open until the end of the interval.

Getting there and getting in

• Camden Town tube is closest, 700m on foot. Chalk Farm is 950m.
• Camden Road rail station is 1km away.
• Bus 274 runs along Regent's Park Road and the 88 stops on Parkway.
• The building is usually open 09:00 to 23:00 seven days a week, though it sometimes closes early on quieter days.

On access, Hirespace lists step-free access by lift, and the venue offers access listings in large print, braille and audio on request. There are a limited number of disabled parking bays in the grounds, reached from Regent's Park Road.

For after: The Lansdowne

The Lansdowne, 90 Gloucester Avenue, NW1 8HX, is a short walk along the road from the House. DesignMyNight describes it as a Primrose Hill gastropub since 1992, known for pizza and roasts, and dog-friendly. Tripadvisor lists hours of 12:00 to 23:00, and Sunday 12:00 to 22:30. Order the pizza if you are in after a gig, or the roast on a Sunday. Ring ahead on a gig night, as hours can change.

Details and bookings: EFDSS booking page, travel and opening hours, Songs for the Workers, The Lansdowne on DesignMyNight.