The Parr Hall is the only surviving professional concert hall venue in

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

, England. It is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

as a designated Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

Location

The Parr Hall and Pyramid Arts Centre are located in the cultural quarter of

town centre, in Palmyra Square.

History

Parr Hall was designed by the local architect William Owen in 1895. Originally it was built for the people of Warrington by Joseph Parr. Warrington Musical Society gave the first concert. The hall has hosted concerts and organ recitals from leading orchestras and cathedral organists over the years.

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

performed at the venue on 25 November 1963,

The Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist Clint Warwick. The g ...

on 1 March 1965 and

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on 22 March and 11 October 1965 and on 14 June 1965

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. The band James - having sold out concerts at much larger venues - played the Parr Hall on 20 December 1991 to record a promotional video. Other notable artists such as

Beth Hart Beth Hart (born January 24, 1972) is an American musician from Los Angeles, California. She rose to fame with the release of her 1999 single " LA Song (Out of This Town)" from her second album '' Screamin' for My Supper''. The single was a numbe ...

, Feeder,

The Courteeners Courteeners are an English band formed in Middleton in 2006 by Liam Fray (lead guitar/vocals), Michael Campbell (drums/backing vocals), Daniel "Conan" Moores (rhythm guitar) and Mark Cuppello (bass); the latter was replaced by the band's produc ...

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, and Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel (2001, 2013 and 2017) have played at the venue, and

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...

is a regular performer. The Parr Hall has also hosted many famous comedians including

Andy Parsons Andrew John Parsons (born 30 November 1966) is an English comedian and writer. He regularly appeared on '' Mock the Week'' from Series 3 to Series 14. With comedy partner Henry Naylor, he has written and presented nine series of '' Parsons and ...

Jimmy Carr James Anthony Patrick Carr (born 15 September 1972) is a British-Irish comedian, presenter, writer, and actor. He is known for his deadpan delivery of controversial one-liners and distinctive laugh, for which he has been both praised and criti ...

and

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. It has also been home since 1992 to the Warrington Scouts

Gang Show A Gang Show is a theatrical performance by members of Scouts and Guides. The shows are produced with the dual aims of providing a learning opportunity for young people in the performing arts, as well as contributing to the artistic and cultural ...

. The

Warrington Male Voice Choir Warrington Male Voice Choir is one of Great Britain's oldest choirs, tracing its formation to 1898. During its long history the choir has travelled widely and has performed in many famous concert halls and cathedrals throughout the United Kingdom, ...

have been regular performers at the Hall for the past 100 years. The Parr Hall was the chosen venue for the first

Stone Roses In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

concert since 1996 when the band announced a last-minute show on 23 May 2012. The gig was free of charge for fans, and the tickets were sold via a wristband system at the venue from 4pm on the day. Fans needed to produce either a CD inlay cover, record sleeve, official band T-shirt or a ticket for the Reunion Tour shows at Heaton Park when arriving at the venue.

Cavaillé-Coll Organ

The Parr Hall is home to one of the few surviving unaltered pipe organs in the UK that was built by the great French organ builder

Aristide Cavaillé-Coll Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (; 4 February 1811 – 13 October 1899) was a French organ builder. He has the reputation of being the most distinguished organ builder of the 19th century. He pioneered innovations in the art and science of organ buildi ...

(1811–99).

Pyramid Arts Centre

In 1989 the borough council also saw a need for a better arts and theatre complex so re-developed the old courthouse and Centre Sport, sports hall next door into The Pyramid Arts Centre. The Pyramid, opened in 2002, hosts various classes throughout the year for people interested in discovering the arts. Pyramid also hosts a monthly Comedy Store Event, local band nights as well as having a varied programme of weekly classes. One of its studios was named in 2011 after the late

Pete Postlethwaite Peter William Postlethwaite, (7 February 1946 – 2 January 2011) was an English character actor. After minor television appearances, including in '' The Professionals'', his first major success arose through the British autobiographical fil ...

Other theatres in Warrington

In the past there were several other theatres/concert venues in Warrington but most have either been shut down, demolished or turned into pubs and clubs. The last proper theatre to close in the town was the Crosfield Centenary Theatre, originally run by Crosfield Chemical Company (now PQ Corporation), demolished in 1991. The land where this theatre stood is now a vacant fenced off patch of grass at the end of Sankey Street, due to local rules only allowing a theatre to be built on it. Padgate Academy has a studio theatre which has hosted some notable productions.

Birchwood Birchwood is a town in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England with a population of 11,395 (as at the 2001 census). Although physically and administratively part of Warrington, the civil parish council has named itself a town council. Hi ...

High School has a theatre which has hosted productions by WAspS Drama Group, a group for people in Warrington with Asperger's Syndrome. Also Birchwood High School stage has seen performances from Britain's Got Talent winner George Sampson, who was a pupil at the school.

Great Sankey High School Great Sankey High School (GSHS) is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Warrington, Cheshire, England. It is a member of the Omega Multi-Academy Trust (OMAT). The school was first built in the 1970s a ...

also has a notable performance venue. The new

Warrington Collegiate Warrington and Vale Royal College, previously known as Warrington Collegiate, is a vocational learning provider in Warrington and Winsford, Cheshire for people aged 16–19, as well as courses aimed at adult learners. The college mainly offers voca ...

has a new theatre, near Buckley's Restaurant on the Winwick Road Campus, and this has brought about many exciting productions by the drama students in Warrington, including ''The Rocky Horror Show'', which later went on to perform at the finals of the National Training Awards, and a one-off showcase at the Royal Horticultural Halls, LondonWarrington Collegiate News
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References