Blackheath Halls

Last updated

Blackheath Halls
Blackheath Concert Hall
Blackheath Halls (geograph 5224617).jpg
Blackheath Halls
Blackheath Halls
Location Blackheath
London, SE3
United Kingdom
Coordinates 51°27′52″N0°0′34.7″E / 51.46444°N 0.009639°E / 51.46444; 0.009639
Public transit National Rail logo.svg Blackheath
OwnerTrinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance
TypeMusic and Comedy
Capacity 600 (Great Hall)
160 (Recital)
Construction
Opened1895;129 years ago (1895)
Rebuilt1991
Website
www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/about-us/visit-us/#blackheath-halls

Blackheath Halls is a 600-seat concert hall on Lee Road in Blackheath, London, United Kingdom. It claims to be London's oldest surviving purpose-built cultural venue. [1]

Contents

History

It was established via a public subscription and built in 1895. Some sources suggest it was constructed by the firm of William Webster, [2] though this may reflect his son William's involvement in funding the project, as other sources attribute the construction to a J.O. Richardson of Peckham. [3]

The venue initially hosted orchestral and choral works and some of the 20th century's most famous musical performers appeared there, such as Dame Clara Butt and Percy Grainger.

Restoration

During the 1980s the Halls were saved from demolition via the support of local businesses and the community. Extensive renovation and restoration followed and the Halls fully reopened in 1991. Blackheath Halls are now a wholly owned subsidiary of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

Venue

Featuring a 600-seat Great Hall and 160-seat recital room the Halls cater for classical concerts, music gigs (rock, pop and folk) as well as stand-up comedy acts. A major feature of the Halls revolves around encouraging the local community to get involved with family performances and activities.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackheath, London</span> Area of south-east London, England

Blackheath is an area in Southeast London, straddling the border of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Lewisham. Historically within the county of Kent, it is located 1-mile (1.6 km) northeast of Lewisham, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of Greenwich and 6.4 miles (10.3 km) southeast of Charing Cross, the traditional centre of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Albert Hall</span> Concert hall in South Kensington, London

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concert</span> Live performance of music

A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety and size of settings, from private houses and small nightclubs, dedicated concert halls, amphitheatres and parks, to large multipurpose buildings, such as arenas and stadiums. Indoor concerts held in the largest venues are sometimes called arena concerts or amphitheatre concerts. Informal names for a concert include show and gig.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Ballet and Opera</span> Performing arts venue in London, England

The Royal Ballet and Opera, formerly the Royal Opera House (ROH), is a historic opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. The first theatre on the site, the Theatre Royal (1732), served primarily as a playhouse for the first hundred years of its history. In 1734, the first ballet was presented. A year later, the first season of operas, by George Frideric Handel, began. Many of his operas and oratorios were specifically written for Covent Garden and had their premieres there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Town hall</span> Chief administrative building of a municipality

In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre, guildhall, or municipal building is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city or town council, its associated departments, and their employees. It also usually functions as the base of the mayor of a city, town, borough, county or shire, and of the executive arm of the municipality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glasgow Royal Concert Hall</span> Concert hall in Glasgow City, Scotland, UK

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is a concert and arts venue located in Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned by Glasgow City Council and operated by Glasgow Life, an agency of Glasgow City Council, which also runs Glasgow's City Halls and Old Fruitmarket venue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massey Hall</span> Concert hall in Toronto, Canada

Massey Hall is a performing arts theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. An intimate theatre, it was originally designed to seat 3,500 patrons, but after extensive renovations in the 1940s, it now seats only up to 2,765. It has an extensive history of concerts by artists of many musical genres which continues today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wigmore Hall</span> Recital venue in London

The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good acoustics. It specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals, and hosts over five hundred concerts each year, as well as a weekly concert broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay</span> Performing arts center in Singapore

Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay or nicknamed as The Durian is a performing arts centre located in the Downtown Core of Singapore near the mouth of the Singapore River. Named after the nearby Esplanade Park, it consists of two rounded structures: one housing a concert hall with about 1,600 seats; and the other a theatre with a capacity of about 2,000 for the performing arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snape Maltings Concert Hall</span>

Snape Maltings Concert Hall is an arts complex on the banks of the River Alde at Snape, Suffolk, England. It is best known as one of the main sites of the annual Aldeburgh Festival. It is now one of two headquarters for Britten Pears Arts, with the other being The Red House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music venue</span> Any location used for a concert or musical performance

A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music. Opera houses, bandshells, and concert halls host classical music performances, whereas public houses ("pubs"), nightclubs, and discothèques offer music in contemporary genres, such as rock, dance, country, and pop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strathmore (Maryland)</span> Arts center in North Bethesda, Maryland, US

Strathmore is a cultural and artistic venue and institution in North Bethesda, Maryland, United States. Strathmore was founded in 1981 and consists of two venues: the Mansion and the Music Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enmore Theatre</span> Theatre in Enmore, New South Wales

The Enmore Theatre is a theatre and entertainment venue in Enmore, New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tucson Convention Center</span> Convention center in Arizona

The Tucson Convention Center is a multi-purpose convention center located in downtown Tucson, Arizona. Built in 1971, the location includes an 8,962-seat indoor arena, two performing arts venues, and 205,000 square feet (19,000 m2) of meeting space. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Webster Hall</span> Nightclub in Manhattan, New York

Webster Hall is a nightclub and concert venue located at 125 East 11th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues, near Astor Place, in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. It is one of New York City's most historically significant theater and event halls, having hosted social events of all types since the club's construction in 1886 as a "hall for hire". Its current incarnation was opened in 1992 by the Ballinger brothers, with a capacity of 1,400, providing its traditional role as well as for corporate events, and for a recording studio. A scholarly account of Webster Hall and its place in the wider history of rock music in Lower Manhattan was published in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golders Green Hippodrome</span> Theatre in London

The Golders Green Hippodrome was built in 1913 by Bertie Crewe as a 3,000-seat music hall, to serve North London and the new London Underground Northern line expansion into Golders Green in the London Borough of Barnet, London, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilton's Music Hall</span> Music hall in Whitechapel, Tower Hamlets, London, England

Wilton's Music Hall is a Grade II* listed building in Shadwell, built as a music hall and now run as a multi-arts performance space in Graces Alley, off Cable Street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is one of very few surviving music halls of the East End of London and retains many original features.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbican Centre</span> Performing arts centre in London, England

The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London, England, and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory. The Barbican Centre is a member of the Global Cultural Districts Network.

William Webster was a British builder who worked with architects and engineers such as Gilbert Scott and Joseph Bazalgette and is especially associated with several embankments of the River Thames.

William Webster (1855–1910) was an English chemical engineer credited with developments in gas detection, sewage treatment and medical use of x-rays. A gifted artist and musician, Webster also helped found the Blackheath Concert Halls and the adjacent Conservatoire in Blackheath in south-east London during the 1890s.

References

  1. http://www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/blackheath-halls/about-blackheath-halls About Blackheath Halls
  2. "Blackheath Halls, Grade II* Listed Victorian Performance Halls". Fanshawe. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  3. "William Webster". The Blackheath Society. Retrieved 14 May 2018.