The hall is one of the largest provincial venues used by touring entertainers, with unobstructed sight lines and excellent acoustics. During the 1540s renovation, 'the walls were "finished with castyng, whyting the walls and makyng rayles for hangyngs," benches were built between the pillars, and the whole of the crossing arch between the east end of the nave and the "walking place" below the steeple, was blocked up to finish the room' (Sutermeister, <em>Blackfriars</em> 10).