Ocean, formerly the Astoria, is a nightclub located on Greyfriar Gate in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The club is used as a student night club for both of the universities in Nottingham.

History

The building opened as a ''palais de danse'' to replace Victoria Halls in Talbot Street. It was known as ''Greyfriars Hall'' and was opened by the

Lord Mayor of Nottingham The Lord Mayor of Nottingham is a largely ceremonial role for the city of Nottingham, England. The position was historically Mayor of Nottingham; this was changed to Lord Mayor in 1928. The position is elected every May by Nottingham city coun ...

, Walter Wessen, on 8 October 1929. It was designed by the Nottingham architectural practice of

Evans, Clark and Woollatt Evans, Clark and Wollatt was an architectural practice based in Nottingham from the early 1920s to 1948. History The practice was established by Robert Evans (Jun), Robert Evans, John Thomas Clark and John Woollatt by 1921. Robert Evans died in 1 ...

for W. A. Walker at a cost of £30,000. The main dance hall with a floor of by which accommodated 600 dancers. One of the main events of the year was the

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

Ball which transferred to this venue in 1929. On 12 May 1940 three men were discovered inside the building by a police officer, and charged with breaking and entering and stealing goods worth over £200 (). It reopened as the ''Astoria Ballroom'' after the Second World War on 29 March 1948. In 1957, the name was changed to the Sherwood Rooms. It was owned by the

Mecca Leisure Group Mecca Leisure Group (also known as Mecca Leisure Ltd, Mecca Ltd, and Mecca Dance Ltd) was a British business that ran nightclubs, hotels, theme parks, bingo parlours and Hard Rock Cafes. During the 1960s, Mecca was a centre of entertainment wi ...

. In the 1970s the main front was rebuilt. In 1984, it was acquired by Barry Noble and adopted its former name Astoria. It subsequently changed its name in the 1990s to ''MGM'' and in 1999 became ''Ocean'' a club mainly used by students.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.iloveocean.co.uk Culture in Nottingham Music venues in Nottinghamshire Buildings and structures in Nottingham Nightclubs in England