Weston's Music Hall was a

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

that opened on 16 November 1857 at 242-245

High Holborn High Holborn ( ) is a street in Holborn and Farringdon Without, Central London, which forms a part of the A40 route from London to Fishguard. It starts in the west at the eastern end of St Giles High Street and runs past the Kingsway and ...

in London, England. In 1906, the theatre became known as the Holborn Empire.

History

Early years

The theatre was constructed on the site of the ''Six Cans and Punch Bowl Tavern''. Edward Weston, nephew of the previous licensee of the pub, bought the former

Holborn National Schoolrooms The National Hall, Holborn was a building in High Holborn, London, owned in the 1840s by the National Association for Promoting the Political and Social Improvement of the People. The lease of 242A High Holborn was taken by the National Associati ...

immediately behind the pub and rebuilt it as a music hall in six months. This purpose built hall was his response to the success of Charles Morton's

Canterbury Music Hall The Canterbury Music Hall was established in 1852 by Charles Morton on the site of a former skittle alley adjacent to the Canterbury Tavern at 143 Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth. It was one of the first purpose-built music halls in London, and ...

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

. In 1861, Morton struck back by opening the

Oxford Music Hall Oxford Music Hall was a music hall located in Westminster, London at the corner of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road. It was established on the site of a former public house, the Boar and Castle, by Charles Morton, in 1861. In 1917 the music ...

, nearby in

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as ...

; a development Weston opposed on the grounds there were already too many music halls in the area.Weston's Music Hall, at Arthur Lloyd music hall history
31 Mar 2007 The theatre was renamed the ''Royal Music Hall'' in 1868, and then changed names again in 1892 under the management of Arthur Swanborough and George Burgess, becoming the ''Royal Holborn Theatre of Varieties''. So successful was it in that decade it began to rival Morton's Canterbury Theatre, which was the most popular and profitable in London. The hall's early and most influential years were presided over by an exacting chairman and master of ceremonies, W. B. Fair, famous for the song ''Tommy, Make Room for Your Uncle''. He chose the acts, warmed the audience up for each succeeding performance, and encouraged them at all times to interact with the performers throughout the evening. Fair was thus responsible for introducing to the London stage some of the most famous music hall acts, including

Bessie Bellwood Bessie Bellwood (born Catherine Mahoney; 30 March 1856 – 24 September 1896) was a popular music hall performer of the Victorian era noted for her singing of 'Coster' songs, including "What Cheer Ria". Her onstage persona was that of an abra ...

and JH Stead.British Library on Weston's
accessed 31 Mar 2007 The theatre became moribund at the beginning of the 20th century, but was rescued by George Cray, with sketches such as ''The Fighting Parson''.

Holborn Empire

In 1905 the theatre was bought by the variety impresario Walter Gibbons and in 1906 he had the theatre auditorium remodelled by

Frank Matcham Francis Matcham (22 November 1854 – 17 May 1920)Mackintosh, Iain"Matcham, Frank" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 7 July 2019 was an English architect who specialised in the design o ...

at a cost of £30,000; the theatre was renamed the Holborn Empire. The Holborn Empire was the last surviving

variety theatre Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a compèr ...

in the West End, also performing special theatrical matinees. 1907 Music hall strike poster

On 22 January 1907, a long brewing dispute between artists, stage hands and managers of the theatres came to a head at the Holborn Empire. The artists, musicians and stage hands went on strike. Strikes in other London and suburban halls followed, organised by the

Variety Artistes' Federation The Variety Artistes' Federation (VAF) was a trade union representing variety performers in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded on 18 February 1906, after discussions between the show business social club and charity the Grand Orde ...

. The strike came to be known as the '' Music Hall Wars'', and was against the conditions imposed by the managers. These included sole rights to a star and the ability to include additional matinee performances in the schedule without pay, or notice. Eventually the managements were forced to give in, in the face of solidarity by major stars like

Marie Lloyd Matilda Alice Victoria Wood (12 February 1870 – 7 October 1922), professionally known as Marie Lloyd (), was an English music hall singer, comedian and musical theatre actress. She was best known for her performances of songs such as " T ...

, and additional payments for matinee performances were introduced. The theatre premièred the first full-length feature film in 1914, ''The World, the Flesh and the Devil'', a 50-minute

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

filmed in

Kinemacolor Kinemacolor was the first successful colour motion picture process, used commercially from 1908 to 1914. It was invented by George Albert Smith in 1906. He was influenced by the work of William Norman Lascelles Davidson and, more directly, E ...

. In 1926, comedians

Flanagan and Allen Flanagan and Allen were a British singing and comedy double act most active during the 1930s and 1940s. Its members were Bud Flanagan (1896 – 1968, born Chaim Weintrop) and Chesney Allen (1894–1982). They were first paired in a Florrie For ...

were booked by

Val Parnell Valentine Charles Parnell (14 February 1892 – 22 September 1972) was a British television managing director and presenter, actor and theatrical impresario. A former staple of stage production, his career in television started with the launc ...

for a début at the theatre, and

Margaret Lockwood Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), was an English actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938), ''Night Train to Munich' ...

made her first stage appearance at the age of 12, in 1928, as a fairy in ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

''. The Holborn Empire was where Max Miller was taken on by impresario Tom Arnold in 1926, and also where he starred in the George Black revues ''Haw Haw!'' (1939), followed by ''Apple Sauce'' (1940) featuring

Florence Desmond Florence Dawson (31 May 1905 – 16 January 1993), better known by her stage name Florence Desmond, was an English actress, comedian and impersonator. Biography Early life and career Born in London in 1905, Desmond was educated at the Dame A ...

, Jack Stanford and

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...

. The theatre was closed as a result of an unexploded time bomb near the stage door, during

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

on the night of 11–12 May 1941, and the show transferred to the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 an ...

.''Notable Stage Appearances'' (Miller's the name, lady)
accessed 15 Nov 2007 The building was hit the following night by another bomb and too badly damaged to reopen. It was finally pulled down in 1960.

References

* ''The Oxford Companion To Theatre'' (second edition) (1957)

External links

accessed 31 Mar 2007
Theatre Collection at the University of Kent
{{Authority control Theatres completed in 1857 1941 disestablishments in England Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Camden Former music hall venues in the United Kingdom Former theatres in London Buildings and structures in Holborn Music venues completed in 1857 1857 establishments in England