''For other theatres with a similar name, see

Victoria Theatre (disambiguation) Victoria Theatre may refer to: * Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall, located in Singapore * (1859–1891), formerly located in Berlin, Germany * Victoria Theatre (Dayton, Ohio), located in the United States of America * Victoria Theatre, Halifax, l ...

'' Victoria Hall is a

concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...

in Hanley,

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It opened in 1888, having been constructed to commemorate

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

's Jubilee the previous year. Along with the Regent Theatre, also in Hanley, it is managed by the

Ambassador Theatre Group The Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) is a major international theatre organisation headquartered in the United Kingdom, with offices in Woking (head office), London, New York, Sydney, Mannheim and Cologne. ATG's key operations comprise three in ...

History

Victoria Hall was constructed as an annex to Hanley Town Hall in 1888, as part of the town's celebrations for the

Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria The Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria was celebrated on 20 and 21 June 1887 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. It was celebrated with a Thanksgiving Service at Westminster Abbey, and a banquet to which ...

. It was built in red brick and

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...

, and designed by local borough surveyor Joseph Lobley. Conductors who have appeared at the hall include

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

who conducted the first performance of his composition '' King Olaf'' ( Op 30). In 1996 Donald Hunt conducted the

BBC Philharmonic The BBC Philharmonic is a national British broadcasting symphony orchestra and is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Philharmonic is a department of the BBC North Group division based at Med ...

and the Ceramic City Choir in a revival to mark the centenary of the premiere. Recordings made in the hall include the

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

Made in Stoke 24/7/11 ''Made in Stoke 24/7/11'' is the second live album by British-American hard rock guitarist Slash. Featuring American vocalist Myles Kennedy, the album was recorded on Slash's debut solo tour in Stoke-on-Trent, where Slash spent his early yea ...

''.

Facilities

Originally the building had a capacity of 2800 people, but this has since been reduced considerably to 1467 as seating replaced wooden forms and benches. The organ has 4

manual Manual may refer to: Instructions * User guide * Owner's manual * Instruction manual (gaming) * Online help Other uses * Manual (music), a keyboard, as for an organ * Manual (band) * Manual transmission * Manual, a bicycle technique similar to ...

s. The original instrument was presented by George Meakin, a local businessman, who acquired it in Yorkshire. It was rebuilt and enlarged in the 1920s. The organ has since been modified more than once, but the most recent work has been aimed at restoring its 1920s tone. As an adjunct to the town hall, the building originally had minimal front-of-house facilities. To remedy this, an extension was constructed in 1999 as part of the development of a "Cultural Quarter" in Hanley. This building interlinks with the hall, providing a new entrance space with better facilities for the audiences and performers along with access for the disabled to all parts of the house.

References

Buildings and structures in Stoke-on-Trent Concert halls in England Grade II listed buildings in Staffordshire Tourist attractions in Stoke-on-Trent Performance art venues 1888 establishments in England Event venues established in 1888 {{Staffordshire-struct-stub