Bedminster Town Hall

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Bedminster Town Hall is a former events venue in Cannon Street in Bedminster, a suburb of Bristol in England. The building is currently in use as a furniture shop.

History

In the late 19th century, a group of local businessmen decided to form a company, to be known as the Bedminster Town Hall Company, to finance and commission a new public hall for the parish. [1] The site they selected was on the southwest side of Cannon Street. [2]

The new building was designed in the Italianate style, built in brick at a cost of nearly £6,000 and was completed in 1891. [3] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of four bays facing onto Cannon Street. The central two bays on the ground floor featured round headed openings flanked by half-height columns with imposts supporting architraves. The outer bays on the ground floor and all the bays on the first floor were fenestrated by bi-partite round headed windows with tracery. There were pilasters separating the bays on the first floor and, at roof level, there was a modillioned cornice. Internally, the principal room was the main hall which was 67 feet (20 m) long and 51 feet (16 m) wide. [4] It had seating for 750 people on the ground floor, 450 in the gallery, and standing room for another 350 people. An adjoining building, erected at the same time, housed a liberal club. [5]

The building was extensively used as a venue for concerts hosted by the Bristol South Musical Society. [6] Performers included the contralto, Dame Clara Butt, who appeared in April 1893 [7] and again in December 1894. [8] [9] [10] However, the venture was not financially successful and the company which had developed the building was wound up in 1898. [1] In 1909, the building was leased to the cinema pioneer, Ralph Pringle, who converted it into a cinema. [11] [12] [13] It remained an independent cinema until 1954, when it was closed and was converted into a shopping mall. It was officially reopened as the "Bedminster Shopping Hall" on 11 February 1954. [14] It was described two years later in the Estates Gazette as a "unique arcade" with "28 shops". [15]

The façade was later rebuilt in the modern style with a shop front on the ground floor and a series of nine tall casement windows on the first floor. By the early 21st century, it accommodated a furniture store, trading since around 2001 as Bedmaker, [16] [17] and since around 2009, as Kustom Floors. [18] [19] [20]

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References

  1. 1 2 "No. 26933". The London Gazette . 28 January 1898. p. 521.
  2. ↑ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1900. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  3. ↑ "History Walk 1 – Bedminster Bridge via Windmill Hill to East Street" (PDF). Bristol Radical History Group. p. 3. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  4. ↑ Ledger, Edward (1892). The Era Almanack, Dramatic & Musical.
  5. ↑ Arrowsmith, James Williams (1906). How To See Bristol A Complete, Up-to-date, and Profusely Illustrated Guide to Bristol, Clifton and Neighbourhood. p. 106.
  6. ↑ The Musical Herald Issues 526–537. J. Curwen & Sons. 1 June 1892. p. 174.
  7. ↑ The Musical Times and Singing-class Circular. Vol. 34. Novello, Ewer & Co. 1 May 1893. p. 281.
  8. ↑ Carter, Albert Charles Robinson (1896). The Year's Music. J.S. Virtue & Company. p. 187.
  9. ↑ Musical Times and Singing Class Circular. Vol. 36. 1 February 1895. p. 110.
  10. ↑ Ponder, H. W. (1978). Clara Butt, her life-story. Da Capo Press. p. 40. ISBN   978-0-306-77529-1.
  11. ↑ "Bedminster Town Hall". Bristol's Lost Cinemas. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  12. ↑ "Ralph Pingle's Grave De-brambled". B24/7. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  13. ↑ Day, Roy (1985). "Picture Palace: Its Coming and Going" (PDF). Bristol Industrial Archaeological Society. p. 18. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  14. ↑ "Photo dated 4 February 1954". Bristol Times. 4 February 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  15. ↑ Bedminster Town Hall. Vol. 167. Estates Gazette. 1956. p. 34.
  16. ↑ "Bedmaker Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  17. ↑ "Bedmaker". Biz in Europe. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  18. ↑ Askew, Robin (23 February 2015). "15 Places in Bristol that once were cinemas". Bristol 24/7. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  19. ↑ "Kustom Floors Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  20. ↑ Roberts, Brian (2022). Bristol Cinemas: Part One (PDF). p. 7. Retrieved 13 May 2024.

51°26′28″N2°36′05″W / 51.4410°N 2.6014°W / 51.4410; -2.6014

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