Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl
Encyclopedia
Porthcawl
Porthcawl is a town on the south coast of Wales in the county borough of Bridgend, 25 miles west of the capital city, Cardiff and 19 miles southeast of Swansea...
, Bridgend County Borough, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, was opened in 1932. It is well-known for its octagonal dome and striking frontage
Frontage
Frontage is the full length of a plot of land or a building measured alongside the road on to which the plot or building fronts. This is considered especially important for certain types of commercial and retail real estate, in applying zoning bylaws and property tax...
. Originally intended as a Palm Court
Palm Court
Palm Court may refer to:* Palm court - a large room, usually in a prestigious hotel, where functions are staged* Palm Court - historic ballroom in Los Angeles, California...
for hosting Tea Dances, Balls and Civic functions, the Pavilion is an extremely versatile venue.
Construction of the Grand Pavilion commenced in the summer of 1931. The use of ferrocrete throughout meant that the construction was relatively quick and was complete by August 1932. At the time, the use of ferrocrete was a relatively new technology and remarkably 75 years on, it has stood the test of time.
The Grand Pavilion hosts a wide variety of events throughout the year including live theatre, concerts, ballroom dancing, conferences, dances, and culminating in the ever-popular Christmas pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
. Recently, names such as Rob Brydon
Rob Brydon
Rob Brydon is a BAFTA-nominated Welsh actor, comedian, radio and television presenter, singer and impressionist...
, Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
, Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks is an English singer, formerly a vocalist with Vinegar Joe, and later a solo artist. Elkie has been nominated twice for Brit Awards' top female singer. She is known for her powerful husky voice...
, Cerys Matthews
Cerys Matthews
Cerys Elizabeth Matthews is a Welsh singer and songwriter. She is known as the lead singer of the Welsh rock band Catatonia, her more recent bilingual solo career, and for a 1998 Christmas duet with Tom Jones.-Biography:...
, Hayley Westenra
Hayley Westenra
Hayley Dee Westenra is a New Zealand soprano, classical crossover artist, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached No. 1 on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide...
, Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Jenkins is a Welsh mezzo-soprano. She is a classical-popular crossover singer who performs across a spectrum of operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre and hymns.-Early life and education:...
, Suzi Quatro
Suzi Quatro
Susan Kay "Suzi" Quatro is an American singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor.She scored a string of hit singles in the 1970s that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, and had a recurring role on the popular American sitcom Happy Days.-Music:Quatro began her...
, Ralph McTell
Ralph McTell
Ralph McTell is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s....
, Joe Pasquale
Joe Pasquale
Joseph Ellis "Joe" Pasquale is an English comedian from Grays, Essex, arguably most famous for his high-pitched voice, use of visual gags and more recently being crowned "King of the Jungle", on the reality TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!...
, and Gerry & The Pacemakers
Gerry & the Pacemakers
Gerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat music group prominent during the 1960s. In common with The Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. They are most remembered for being the first act to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart with...
have all appeared on the Pavilion's stage. In 1957 a US Government travel ban prevented Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
from appearing in person at the Miners' Eisteddfod, however he still performed live via a secretly arranged transatlantic telephone link up. 50 years on, in 2007, the Grand Pavilion celebrated this important event with a very special concert featuring Sir Willard White
Willard White
Sir Willard Wentworth White, OM, CBE is a Jamaican-born British bass-baritone.-Early life:He was born into a poor but supportive Jamaican family in Kingston. His father was a dockworker, his mother a housewife. White first began to learn music by listening to the radio and singing Nat King Cole...
.
The Grand Pavilion is also a versatile and unique conference venue, hosting many corporate and charity conferences and meetings throughout the year. It is also a popular venue for civil wedding ceremonies, receptions and parties.
The main hall features a fully equipped stage, which is host to many professional and amateur performances throughout the year. The main hall has a theatre seating capacity of 643. The hall also boasts one of the finest sprung dance floors anywhere in South Wales. The octagonal floor ensures plenty of space for dancing, and is regularly used for ballroom dancing classes, as well as sell out tea dances.
Originally named the "lesser hall" (and subsequently the "Jubilee Room") the basement of the Pavilion houses a recently refurbished performance space now named "The Stage Door". The Stage Door plays host to regular Comedy nights, folk and jazz nights, dance classes, theatre workshops, conferences and meetings.
Patrons to The Grand Pavilion's sea front Cafe Bar enjoy panoramic south facing views across the Bristol Channel. On a clear day, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, 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...
, is clearly visible. The Cafe Bar hosts its own series of events, such as Jazz, Chill-out sessions, Literary speaking and an Art Forum. Several metres to the west is the Seabank Hotel
Seabank Hotel
The Seabank Hotel is an historic hotel located in Porthcawl, southern Wales. The hotel is located on the corner of the front Esplanade and Picton Avenue overlooking the sea. The current building is dated to the mid 1930s. The distinctive white building with its red tiled roof, along with the Grand...
.