The site on which Stanford Hall now stands has been occupied by large country houses for well over 200 years. The present hall was built between 1771 and 1774 for Charles Vere Dashwood and was subsequently owned from late in the 19^th century by the very wealthy Ratcliffe family.

In 1928 the owner was Kathleen Kimball, who sold the Hall on March 24^th of that year to Mr. Julian Cahn for £70,000. Julian Cahn, who was born on 21^st October 1882, was the son of Albert Cahn, the founder of Nottingham Furnishing Company. By 1943 when he retired and sold out to Great Universal Stores, he controlled a chain of between 300 and 400 stores.

The baronetcy was awarded in 1934 for services to Agriculture and a number of charitable causes. Apart from a great interest in cricket, his other great love was of magic and illusions, and on several occasions before 1937, Cahn had entertained the members of the Leicester Magic Circle in the Great Hall at Stanford.

Around 1936, Sir Julian Cahn made the decision to have his own theatre built and he employed the services of a Mr. J.E. Redding, a well known interior decorator and designer. The architect chosen was an extremely experienced cinema architect named Cecil Aubrey Massey. Massey designed the basic building and left the interior to others, in this case Redding and Smith, his chief designer. The walls of the auditorium were decorated with murals painted by Beatrice MacDermott, a mural specialist known for her screen designs.

In those days, an ordinary guest attending a performance would enter, as do audiences today, through the small double entrance doors in the entrance foyer. This foyer has been altered considerably since originally built with the construction of a first floor bar extension. Sir Julian and his special guests would enter from the Hall through his private foyer and in through the double doors of the centre rear of the auditorium with a view towards the stage. They would probably see Beatrice MacDermott's elegant curtain rather than the safety curtain we see today.

After the death of Sir Julian Cahn in 1944, the Hall and the Estate was bought by the Co-operative Union Limited. The Hall housed the Co-operative College, the residential training centre of the Co-operative Union for students from Britain and many other countries.

The theatre is used for the production of plays, operas, musicals and concerts by amateur and professional Companies. The Festival Players have been the most regular providers of entertainment at the theatre since the Second World War.

In all the years of the theatre's history there have only been four theatre managers. Mr. Jack Chesham was appointed by Sir Julian Cahn to run the theatre and to assist him with the presentation of the highly complex tricks that he used to perform on stage. Mr. Chesham continued managing the theatre after the Co-operative Union bought the estate. On his retirement in 1959, Mr Kenneth Onions took over this demanding position and was responsible for the management and upkeep of this lovely theatre until his retirement in 1984, a span of 25 years. He was succeeded by Mr. Ron Smith who continued until his tragically early death in 1991. Mr. Geoffrey West was the theatre manager until its sale to the present owners.  After the departure of Geoffrey West,  Mr Jeremy Cave was appointed manager for the final seven months in the period between sale and handover to the new owners.