The Wool Hall

Last updated

The Wool Hall
Somerset UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of The Wool Hall in Somerset
Location Beckington, Somerset, England
Coordinates 51°15′44.3″N2°17′15.5″W / 51.262306°N 2.287639°W / 51.262306; -2.287639
Built16th century
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameThe Wool Hall
Designated11 March 1968
Reference no.1058239

The Wool Hall is a recording studio in the village of Beckington, near Frome, Somerset, England. It was originally a residential studio set up by Tears for Fears in the 1980s and used by many artists, including The Smiths and Van Morrison. Since 2005, it has been used as a private recording studio.

Contents

History

The Wool Hall, showing the exterior staircase leading to the plank door--one of the main features that makes the building historically notable. The Wool Hall, Beckington, Somerset, UK.jpg
The Wool Hall, showing the exterior staircase leading to the plank door—one of the main features that makes the building historically notable.

The Wool Hall dates back to the 16th century, when Beckington was a centre of the wool trade in Somerset. [1] For a time, it was associated with the nearby Beckington Castle and by the 19th century, it was restored for use as a home and store. In 1968, the hall became a grade II listed building. According to Historic England, its notable features include "the semi-circular headed archway over the entrance to the ground floor which incorporates an exterior staircase with rubble balustrade leading to a plank door on the first floor protected by a pent-roofed porch", "double plank doors with decorative iron hinges to [the] ground floor entrance", a "19th-century fireplace in four-centred stone surround", and a "portion of tie-beam roof probably of the 16th century". [2]

In the 1980s, The Wool Hall was converted into a recording studio by the pop group Tears for Fears, who used it to record their album Songs from the Big Chair . In 1986 the studio was opened for use by other artists. [3] Van Morrison bought the studio in 1994, having already recorded five albums there, and it served as one of his main recording studios and a store for a large collection of analogue master tapes recorded during his decades-long musical career. [4] [5] In August 2002, Morrison put the studio up for sale for just under a million pounds [6] and it became a private home and studio the following year.

Music executive producer Denis Ingoldsby of First Avenue Management purchased the Wool Hall in 2005 and used it as a base until 2009, when he relocated to Marsh Lock, Henley on Thames. The Wool Hall fell into disrepair [7] and was put up for sale in 2015 as a "period farmhouse incorporating residential recording studios". [8] The Wool Hall complex (comprising four separate buildings, including the original Wool Hall itself, a six-bedroom farmhouse, a modern annex, and a garage and laundry) was later converted into three separate homes; its recording equipment was dismantled and sold piece-by-piece at an auction. [9] [10] [11] The historic Wool Hall studio building and annex were subsequently bought by Luke Potashnick, former guitarist of rock band Rooster. [12] In 2020, Somerset Live reported that he had submitted plans for a "large-scale renovation of the site". [13]

Use as a recording studio

Many artists used The Wool Hall during its 20-year history as a residential studio. [14] The Smiths recorded Strangeways, Here We Come (their final album) there in 1987. According to Morrissey it was at the end of one of those sessions, in "a glut of meetings with accountants and lawyers at The Wool Hall Studio... [that] the Smiths breathed a last exhausted sigh and folded." [15] Morrissey also recorded his first solo album, Viva Hate at the studio shortly after; its title a reference to the tension of the earlier Smiths' sessions. Other artists who used the studio included Annie Lennox, Ash ( Free All Angels ), Joni Mitchell (parts of Chalk Mark In A Rain Storm ), Julia Neigel, The Pretenders ( Last of the Independents ), David Sylvian ( Secrets of the Beehive and Rain Tree Crow ), Sisters of Mercy (parts of Floodland ), 808 State, Stereophonics, and Paul Weller.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frome</span> Town in Somerset, England

Frome is a town and civil parish in eastern Somerset, England. The town is built on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, and centres on the River Frome. The town lies about 13 miles (21 km) south of the City of Bath, with the market towns of both Westbury and Warminster sitting 6.5 miles to the East. It forms part of the parliamentary constituency of Somerton and Frome. The population was 28,559 in 2021.

<i>Strangeways, Here We Come</i> 1987 studio album by the Smiths

Strangeways, Here We Come is the fourth and final studio album by the English rock band the Smiths. It was released on 28 September 1987 by Rough Trade Records, several months after the group disbanded. All of the songs were composed by Johnny Marr, with lyrics written and sung by Morrissey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windmill Lane Studios</span>

Windmill Lane Recording Studios is a recording studio in Dublin, Ireland. It was originally opened in 1978 by Brian Masterson and James Morris on Windmill Lane, and it subsequently relocated in 1990 to its current location at 20 Ringsend Road, Dublin 4, where it still operates as one of Ireland's largest recording studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Frome, Somerset</span> River in Somerset, England

The River Frome is a river in Somerset, England. It rises near Bungalow Farm on Cannwood Lane, south-west of Witham Friary, flows north through Blatchbridge to the town of Frome, and continues in a generally northerly direction passing between the eastern edge of the Mendip Hills and Trowbridge before joining the Bristol Avon at Freshford, below Bradford on Avon.

Ian Christopher Stanley is a British musician, songwriter and record producer. He was previously a member of the English band Tears for Fears for most of the 1980s, and played a key role in the making of their multi-platinum selling second studio album Songs from the Big Chair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beckington</span> Human settlement in England

Beckington is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, across the River Frome from Lullington about three miles north of Frome. According to the 2011 census the parish, which includes the hamlet of Rudge, which has a population of 983, and the hamlet of Standerwick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berkley, Somerset</span> Human settlement in England

Berkley is a dispersed settlement and civil parish in Somerset, England. According to the 2011 census the parish had a population of 344. It lies on the north-east edge of the town of Frome, St Mary's church being about 2+1⁄4 miles (4 km) from the centre of Frome. The parish includes the hamlets of Oldford, Berkley Marsh and Standerwick, and its eastern boundary is also the county boundary with Wiltshire.

<i>Enlightenment</i> (Van Morrison album) 1990 studio album by Van Morrison

Enlightenment is the twentieth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in 1990 and reached No. 5 in the UK charts and "Real Real Gone" charted at No. 18 in Mainstream Rock Tracks.

<i>Hymns to the Silence</i> 1991 studio album by Van Morrison

Hymns to the Silence is the twenty-first studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was his first studio double album. Morrison recorded the album in 1990 in Beckington at The Wool Hall Studios and in London at Townhouse and Westside Studios.

<i>Back on Top</i> (Van Morrison album) 1999 studio album by Van Morrison

Back on Top is the twenty-seventh studio album by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1999 by Point Blank. It reached the Top Twenty in seven countries, building on the success of 1997's The Healing Game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ravenscroft School, Somerset</span> Preparatory/special school in Beckington, later Farleigh Hungerford, Somerset, England

Ravenscroft School was an independent day and boarding school, initially for boys only, but from 1964 co-educational. From 1945 onwards its premises were in Somerset, England. It closed in July 1996, when most staff and pupils transferred to the new Farleigh College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newbury Manor School</span> Private special school in Frome, Somerset, England

Newbury Manor School, formerly Farleigh College, is a mainly residential special school for pupils with Asperger syndrome, situated at Newbury, near Mells, seven miles from Frome, in the English county of Somerset. It previously occupied Farleigh House at Farleigh Hungerford, a few miles to the north, from which it took its former name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Abbey, Beckington</span> Building in Beckington, England

The Abbey, Beckington in Beckington, Somerset, England is a historic building that was founded as a monastic grange and also used as a college for priests; the building was begun in 1502, but after the Dissolution of the Monasteries it became a private house. It was altered in the early 17th century with a new front and a sumptuous barrel vaulted plaster ceiling, and also altered in the 19th century. The house was used as a school, restaurant and dance hall in 19th and 20th centuries but has now been restored as three houses: the most important plaster ceiling is in the house now known as "The Abbey".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Someone like You (Van Morrison song)</span> 1987 single by Van Morrison

"Someone Like You" is a song written by Northern Irish singer and songwriter Van Morrison and recorded on his seventeenth studio album, Poetic Champions Compose (1987). It has become a wedding and movie classic and the song subsequently furnished the framework for one of Morrison's most popular classics and love ballads, "Have I Told You Lately", released in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Days Like This (Van Morrison song)</span> 1995 single by Van Morrison

"Days Like This" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and the title song of his 1995 album of the same name. Morrison has often performed this song in concert appearances,and it has become one of his most popular songs from his later years. It peaked at number 65 in the UK upon release, and later reached number 12 on the US Billboard US Rock Digital Song Sales chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Precious Time (Van Morrison song)</span> 1999 single by Van Morrison

"Precious Time" is a popular song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and recorded on his 1999 album, Back on Top. It was released as a single in the UK and charted at No. 36. Since first recording it, Morrison has played it in concert 574 times from March 1998 until June 2008, making it one of his most frequently performed songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Back on Top (song)</span> 1999 single by Van Morrison

"Back on Top" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and the title track on his 1999 album, Back on Top. It was released as a single in the UK and charted at number sixty-nine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen of the Slipstream</span> 1988 single by Van Morrison

"Queen of the Slipstream" is a romantic ballad written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and recorded on his 1987 album, Poetic Champions Compose. In 1988 it was released as a single in the UK, but did not chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perfect Fit</span> 1995 single by Van Morrison

"Perfect Fit" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1995 album, Days Like This.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moles (nightclub)</span> Nightclub in Bath, UK

Moles is a live music venue and nightclub in Bath, Somerset. With a capacity of 220 people, it is known as a grassroots venue and hosted notable acts such as Oasis, Ed Sheeran, The Killers, Manic Street Preachers, Radiohead, The Cure, The Smiths, Whiteout, Blur, Pulp, Fatboy Slim, Bastille, King Crimson, Gabrielle, Eurythmics, Tears for Fears, George Ezra and Supergrass. The venue also has a recording studio, with Dummy, Lazer Guided Melodies, Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, and Primary Colours being recorded here.

References

  1. ↑ "Beckington: Village History". Beckington Village Website. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  2. ↑ "The Wool Hall, Beckington". Historic England. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  3. ↑ Mills, Peter (2010). Hymns to the Silence: Inside the Words and Music of Van Morrison. A&C Black. p. 392. ISBN   978-0826429766.
  4. ↑ "Wool Hall Studios - Now Closed". Record Production. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  5. ↑ Jopson, Nigel (1 October 2006). "Interview with Mick Glossop". Resolution. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  6. ↑ Elliott, John (25 August 2002). "Van Morrison - Moving On". The Times. No. Home Section. p. 3.
  7. ↑ Colwill, Jack (20 March 2020). "Former Wool Hall recording studio owned by Van Morrison set to be renovated" . Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "10 bedroom detached house for sale in Beckington, Nr Bath, BA11". Right Move. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  9. ↑ "The Wool Hall" (PDF). Pritchards. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  10. ↑ "Former Tears For Fears studio near Bath is being dismantled and sold piece by piece". Bath Chronicle. 25 February 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  11. ↑ "Tears for Fears' former studio in Beckington fades out". Frome Times. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  12. ↑ "The Wool Hall". Luke Potashnick. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  13. ↑ Colwill, Jack (20 March 2020). "Former Wool Hall recording studio owned by Van Morrison set to be renovated" . Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  14. ↑ "Wool Hall Studios". Discogs. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  15. ↑ Morrissey (2013). Autobiography (EPUB ebook ed.). Penguin. p. 179. ISBN   978-0141394817.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.