Southampton Guildhall
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Southampton Guildhall
OR:
Southampton Guildhall on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Southampton Guildhall (branded the O2 Guildhall Southampton) is a multipurpose venue which forms the East Wing of the
Civic Centre A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...
in
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, England. There are three venues in the Guildhall catering for various event formats: the Guildhall itself, the Solent Suite and a lecture theatre.


History

The Guildhall, which was designed with a large portico with six Ionic order columns with
pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...
above, was intended to complement the rest of the Civic Suite and was opened by the
Earl of Derby Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...
on 13 February 1937. Internally, the principal room was the main hall which was long, wide and high. It contains a pipe organ, designed by
John Compton Sir John George Melvin Compton, (29 April 1925 – 7 September 2007) was a Saint Lucian politician who became the first Prime Minister upon independence in February 1979. Having led Saint Lucia under British rule from 1964 to 1979, Compton se ...
, which was installed shortly before the opening of the building. The organ is unusual in that it has two distinct consoles: a classical concert organ and a theatre organ. The consoles share the same body of pipes which are housed in chambers above the proscenium arch. At some 4,000 pipes it was also the largest organ ever made by Compton. The guildhall was used to accommodate French troops, who had escaped from France in June 1940 during the Dunkirk evacuation. During the
Southampton Blitz The Southampton Blitz was the heavy bombing of Southampton by the Nazi German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. Southampton was a strategic bombing target for the Luftwaffe as it contained both busy docks with associated business premises and ...
in November 1940, the Guildhall was damaged by a bomb that fell at the rear of the hall causing damage to the rooms behind the stage and killing one person. Another bomb penetrated into the basement below the stage before exploding. The building was also hit by numerous incendiary devices. The
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
,
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
, visited the guildhall during a tour of the city in January 1941 and it was used for high-level military conferences in spring and summer 1944 in anticipation of the
Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...
which were coordinated from
Southwick House Southwick House is a Grade II listed 19th-century manor house of the Southwick Estate in Hampshire, England, about north of Portsmouth. It is home to the Defence School of Policing and Guarding, and related military police capabilities. Histor ...
. A new
sprung floor A sprung floor is a floor that absorbs shocks, giving it a softer feel. Such floors are considered the best kind for dance and indoor sports and physical education, and can enhance performance and greatly reduce injuries. Modern sprung floors are ...
was installed in the main hall in 1955 enabling the guildhall to become a major music venue. Leading performers at the guildhall included
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
bands,
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
, in March 1964, and
The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
, in October 1971, and singer-songwriter,
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
, in March 1972 during his
Ziggy Stardust Tour The Ziggy Stardust Tour was a concert tour by David Bowie during 1972–73, to promote the studio albums ''Hunky Dory'', ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' and ''Aladdin Sane''. Bowie was accompanied by his backin ...
. On 7 October 2013, the venue was renamed to the O2 Guildhall Southampton, reflecting a partnership between Live Nation UK and O2 Telefónica.


See also

*
Guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
*
Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...


References

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Southampton Tourist attractions in Southampton