St Andrews Gardens is a Grade II listed 1930s student accommodation building at 21 Moor Place, Liverpool L3 5XA, known across the city as The Bullring. It offers non-en-suite and en-suite rooms arranged in clusters of two to seven bedrooms, wrapped around a large enclosed garden, a short walk from the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores.
It is easily the most architecturally interesting building any Liverpool student is likely to live in, and that fact shapes the whole experience, including the parts people complain about.
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The building has a genuinely unusual history
Opened in 1935, St Andrews Gardens was built as council housing during the interwar push for multi-storey inner-city tenements. The horseshoe shape is why locals called it a bullring, and it is the last survivor of five such blocks built across the city.
The architect, John Hughes, won an Olympic gold medal. This is not a metaphor. Architecture was once an Olympic event, and Hughes took the prize at the 1932 Los Angeles Games for a design of a sports and recreation centre for Liverpool. That design was never built. He put the same energy into St Andrews Gardens instead.
The building was later converted for student use and is now managed as private halls. It has been through internal refurbishment work, including the installation of en-suite pods alongside the original communal bathrooms.
What the listed status means for you as a resident
This is the part that matters practically.
The good news. Because the building was designed as family flats rather than as modern student pods, the rooms are large. Providers advertising St Andrews Gardens consistently point to room size as the selling point, and it holds up. If you have ever seen a modern purpose-built studio where the desk folds out of the wall, this is the opposite.
The trade-offs. A 1930s listed structure cannot be gutted and rebuilt to modern spec. That means:
- Some flats have communal bathrooms rather than en-suites. Check which grade you are being offered
- Sound insulation is what a 1935 building has, not what a 2024 building has
- Heating and window performance vary between blocks
The courtyard. The garden at the centre is genuinely rare for city centre accommodation in Liverpool. Most purpose-built halls give you a shared lounge and a bike rack. This gives you actual outdoor space you can sit in.
Room grades explained
Rooms are sold in tiers, typically Bronze, Silver, Gold, Gold XL and Gold Plus. The tiers differ by size, bathroom arrangement, and floor position rather than by fundamentally different facilities.
Before you book, ask for:
- Photographs of the specific grade you are being quoted, not the show room
- Confirmation of whether the bathroom is en-suite or communal
- Which block and floor, because the courtyard-facing and street-facing rooms have different noise profiles
Flats are grouped in clusters of two to seven bedrooms, with integrated kitchen appliances and broadband advertised at up to 100 Mbps. There are dedicated flats for first years and separate ones for returning students and postgraduates, which is worth requesting explicitly. A quiet postgraduate placed in a first year flat has a long year ahead.
Location and getting to campus
The building sits in the Knowledge Quarter, which is about as central as Liverpool student accommodation gets.
- University of Liverpool: a short walk. Residents can see university buildings from the balconies
- Liverpool John Moores University: also within walking distance
- Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts: nearby
- Liverpool Lime Street station: roughly a 10 minute walk, with direct services to Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and London
- Nearest bus stops: Pembroke Place and Monument Place, two to three minutes away
- Liverpool John Lennon Airport: around eight miles, reachable by direct bus or taxi
If you want to compare this against other central options rather than take a single building's word for it, browse Liverpool student accommodation filtered by walk time to your campus.
The social side, and whether that suits you
St Andrews Gardens has a reputation for events. Silent discos, mini-festivals, an annual Christmas market. The horseshoe layout and central garden mean the building functions as a community in a way that a corridor of studios does not.
Be honest with yourself about whether you want that. A building known for its social calendar is a great first year experience and a difficult final year dissertation environment. If you are writing up a thesis, ask specifically about the postgraduate flats and their location relative to the courtyard.
Facilities include 24 hour CCTV, on-site security, an on-site maintenance team, bike storage, and a limited number of parking spaces allocated first come first served. All utility bills and contents insurance are typically included, which makes the weekly rate close to your real cost.
What to check before you sign
- The total cost across the full tenancy, not the weekly headline
- Whether the room grade quoted is en-suite or communal bathroom
- Instalment dates against your student finance payment dates
- Guarantor requirements, and the alternative if you are an international student without a UK guarantor
- The cancellation and cooling-off terms in writing
International students often face a choice between paying a larger share upfront or using a guarantor service. Both are standard. Ask early rather than in August. Our FAQs walk through guarantor options and payment structures, and our scholarship listings are worth a look if you are trying to close a funding gap.
Is St Andrews Gardens worth it?
If you want a large room, a central location, an outdoor courtyard, and a building with a social life built into its layout, it is one of the strongest value options in Liverpool. Students who have lived there consistently rate the space and the location.
If you want new-build finishes, guaranteed en-suite, and quiet, a modern purpose-built block will serve you better. That is a legitimate preference and there is no prize for choosing the interesting building.
Read reviews from students who actually lived there before deciding, and weight the reviews from people on your course and in your year group most heavily.
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Frequently asked questions
Why is St Andrews Gardens called The Bullring?
The 1930s building is shaped like a horseshoe around a central courtyard, and locals nicknamed it the Copperas Hill Bullring. It is the last of five similar blocks built in Liverpool between the wars.
Where is St Andrews Gardens in Liverpool?
21 Moor Place, Liverpool L3 5XA, in the Knowledge Quarter. Lime Street station is about a 10 minute walk.
Are the rooms at St Andrews Gardens en-suite?
Some are. The building has both en-suite rooms and flats with communal bathrooms following refurbishment work. Confirm which applies to the specific room grade you are offered.
How close is St Andrews Gardens to the University of Liverpool?
It is within walking distance, and university buildings are visible from the balconies. Liverpool John Moores University is also a short walk away.
Does St Andrews Gardens have parking?
A limited number of spaces are available and allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Are bills included at St Andrews Gardens?
Utility bills and contents insurance have typically been included in the rent. Confirm the current package with the provider before booking.