Albert Hall, Nottingham
Encyclopedia
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
History
The original Albert Hall was started in 1873 as a Nottingham Temperance Hall. Watson FothergillWatson Fothergill
Watson Fothergill was an English architect who designed over 100 unique buildings in Nottingham in the East Midlands of England, his influences were mainly from the Gothic Revival and Old English vernacular architecture styles....
, a local architect won the commission. On completion the building cost around £15,000 (£ as of ),. It was the largest concert hall in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
and a major venue for political rallies but it had frequent financial crises. It was put on the market in 1901 and was bought by a syndicate of local businessmen for £8,450 (£ as of ),, opening as a Wesleyan Methodist
Methodist Church of Great Britain
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is the largest Wesleyan Methodist body in the United Kingdom, with congregations across Great Britain . It is the United Kingdom's fourth largest Christian denomination, with around 300,000 members and 6,000 churches...
mission in September 1902.
Although the outstanding debt was a millstone, the work of the mission went from strength to strength until 22 April 1906, when fire swept through the building. The Methodists then realised that the Hall was under-insured. This time, a prominent local Methodist, Albert Edward Lambert
Albert Edward Lambert
Albert Edward Lambert was an architect based in Nottingham.-Family:He was born in Manton in Rutland in 1869. He was the son of John Lambert and Louisa...
, who had been responsible for Nottingham Midland Station was asked to produce a plan. His new Albert Hall Methodist Mission was built in the style of an Edwardian Theatre or Music Hall and, in the practice of temperance halls, concerts and other events were staged in the building.
The new Hall was dedicated in March 1909 and officially opened on the 15 September 1910 by Lady Florence Boot, wife of Jesse Boot of the Boots company.
The Hall continued to be used as a Methodist mission and remained the city's largest concert venue until 1982.
Nottingham City Council
Nottingham City Council
Nottingham City Council is the non-metropolitan district council for the unitary authority of Nottingham in Nottinghamshire. It consists of 55 councillors, representing a total of 20 wards, elected every four years. It is led by Jon Collins, of the majority Labour Party. The deputy leader of the...
purchased the Albert Hall in 1987 and a major refurbishment was undertaken. A new floor was inserted at the level of the front of the circle to reduce the volume of the main hall, and thus created a new separate ground floor hall. The building was linked with the adjacent Nottingham Playhouse
Nottingham Playhouse
The Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in the 1950s when it operated from a former cinema. Directors during this period included Val May and Frank Dunlop.-The building:...
and the bar block of the theatre was updated at the same time to allow the creation of a multipurpose centre. The work was completed in 1988 and Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales
Princess of Wales
Princess of Wales is a British courtesy title held by the wife of The Prince of Wales since the first "English" Prince of Wales in 1283.Although there have been considerably more than ten male heirs to the throne, there have been only ten Princesses of Wales. The majority of Princes of Wales...
unveiled a plaque on 23 February 1989 to commemorate the refurbishment.
The Nottingham Playhouse
Nottingham Playhouse
The Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in the 1950s when it operated from a former cinema. Directors during this period included Val May and Frank Dunlop.-The building:...
managed the Albert Hall until July 1990 when the Nottingham City Council
Nottingham City Council
Nottingham City Council is the non-metropolitan district council for the unitary authority of Nottingham in Nottinghamshire. It consists of 55 councillors, representing a total of 20 wards, elected every four years. It is led by Jon Collins, of the majority Labour Party. The deputy leader of the...
leased the building to the Albert Hall Nottingham Ltd for use as a commercial conference and entertainment Venue.
Notable events
- The Annual Conference of the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
was held in the hall, on 23 January 1918 - Sir Oswald MosleyOswald MosleySir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
addressed the British Union of FascistsBritish Union of FascistsThe British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...
at a meeting in March 1936. - The Rolling StonesThe Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
perform on their 2nd British tour on 2 March 1964 - The Cabinet of the United KingdomCabinet of the United KingdomThe Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and some 22 Cabinet Ministers, the most senior of the government ministers....
Meet for the first time in the East Midlands on 20 November 2009
Current use
Since July 1990 The Hall has been commercially run by The Albert Hall Nottingham ltd and is used as a conference, banqueting and entertainment venue. The venue comprises the Great Hall and a further 10 conference rooms of varying sizes. The venue attracts a wide variety of local and national conferences, whilst continuing to serve many local orchestras, schools, and voluntary organisations.Organ
The organ was built in the Albert Hall Methodist Mission by J.J. Binns in 1909. It cost £4,500 (£ as of ), and was a gift to the City of Nottingham by Jesse Boot, 1st Baron TrentJesse Boot, 1st Baron Trent
Jesse Boot, 1st Baron Trent transformed The Boots Company, founded by his father, John Boot, into a national retailer, which branded itself as "Chemists to the Nation", before he sold out his controlling interest to American investors in 1920.John Boot offered his best friend, John Harston, the...
to be known as the City Organ. The Italian and Spanish walnut casework was made in the Boots shopfitting workshop in Nottingham and the carving executed by Fitchett & Woollacott.
A full restoration of the organ by Harrison & Harrison
Harrison & Harrison
Harrison & Harrison Ltd are a British company that make and restore pipe organs, based in Durham and established in 1861. They are well known for their work on instruments such as King's College Cambridge, Westminster Abbey and the Royal Festival Hall....
was completed in 1993. The restoration was inspired and financed by the "Binns Organ Company", a local group formed for that purpose.
The organ has been awarded a Grade 1 listing by the British Institute of Organ Studies
British Institute of Organ Studies
-Aims:The aims of BIOS are* To promote objective, scholarly research into the history of the organ and its music in all its aspects, and, in particular, into the organ and its music in Britain....
. The Grade 1 listing is for an organ of outstanding historic and musical importance in essentially original condition.