The Old Market, Hove is a historic (
grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
) building on the border of
Brighton
Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
and
Hove
Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove.
Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...
in
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 ...
. It has served various functions, currently operating as an independent mixed-arts venue under the name "TOMThe Old Market".
History
The Old Market was built in 1825 as a covered marketplace for sales of meat, fish and vegetables. It supplied the residential development of
Brunswick, which was originally independent from Brighton and Hove village. As Brighton and Hove have grown up around it, the building has catered for changing needs, operating as a riding academy and stables, warehouse and, since the 1980s, as an arts venue. Established as Old Market Arts Centre (OMAC), the initial arts venture entered difficulties.
The building was renovated in 1998 by The Old Market Trust with a lottery grant of over four million pounds, as a home for The Hanover Band and a community arts venue for Brighton and Hove. Its current owners in 2010, Yes/No Productions (creators of the shows
Stomp) made various changes in order to maximise potential use for gigs, theatre productions, events and performances after purchasing the building for £800,000. In 2011 the building was reopened under the new name TOMThe Old Market.
Programming
Since it reopened in 2011, musicians such as
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known as Fatboy Slim, is an English musician and DJ who helped popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. His music makes extensive use of Sampling (music), samples from eclectic ...
,
Sam Smith,
Anna Calvi
Anna Margaret Michelle Calvi (born 24 September 1980) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. Her accolades include three Mercury Prize nominations, one Brit Awards, Brit Award nomination, and a European Border Breakers Award. She has b ...
,
Paul Weller
John William Weller (born 25 May 1958), better known as Paul Weller, is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame in the late 1970s as the guitarist and principal singer and songwriter of the rock band the Jam, alongside ...
,
Kano,
Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes,
Sleaford Mods and
Morcheeba have performed at the venue, as well as comedians including
Bill Bailey
Mark Robert Bailey (born 13 January 1965), known professionally as Bill Bailey, is an English musician, comedian, actor and television presenter. He is known for his role as Manny in the sitcom '' Black Books'' (2000–2004), and for his regula ...
,
Daniel Kitson,
Katherine Ryan,
Mark Thomas,
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, television producer and filmmaker. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003) ...
,
James Acaster
James William Acaster (; born 9 January 1985) is an English comedian, presenter, podcaster and actor. As well as the stand-up specials ''James Acaster: Repertoire, Repertoire'' and ''Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999'', he is known for co-hosting ...
,
Bo Burnham
Robert Pickering Burnham (born August 21, 1990) is an American stand-up comedian, musician, actor, filmmaker, and YouTuber. Burnham's work combines elements of filmmaking with Comedy music, music, Sketch comedy, sketch, and stand-up comedy, co ...
,
Sara Pascoe and
Nish Kumar
Nishant Kumar (born 1985) is a British stand-up comedian, television presenter and podcaster. He became known as the host of ''The Mash Report'' on BBC Two and U&Dave, Dave. He has also presented ''Newsjack'' on BBC Radio 4 Extra, ''Joel Domme ...
.
The venue also hosts theatre companies including
1927
Events January
* January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...
,
Gecko
Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates. They range from .
Geckos are unique among lizards ...
and
Paines Plough, and bespoke events are also hosted, such as in early May 2023, when
YouTuber
A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...
and
Twitch streamer
TommyInnit held a
sketch comedy
Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...
show at the venue as a build up to his upcoming tour. In December 2023, the venue launched an Immersive Gig programme. The new format sees audiences surrounded by 360º of digital projections, and the first events to take place included sets by
Plaid,
Orbital's
Phil Hartnoll and three nights with Fatboy Slim.
The building acts as host for a number of festivals including
Brighton Fringe,
Brighton Festival and
The Great Escape Festival during May.
The in-house venue programme is split into multiple strands:
* Reigning Women: Established in 2018, this is a multi-genre mini-season all about celebrating women both on and off stage.
* Gig for a Gig: A programme that sees established artists support the next generation by donating a performance at TOM. The proceeds then fund future performances by some of the brightest emerging talent in the industry.
* #TOMtech: An in-house programme that bridges the gap between traditional performance and new technology. The season also includes a LAB programme, that offers artists the opportunity to explore new tools, techniques and partnerships away from the pressures of production cycles.
* TOM's Film Club: A semi-regular art-house film club that champions both new releases and cult classics.
See also
*
Grade II listed buildings in Brighton and Hove: N–O
References
External links
*
*
VisitBrighton page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Market, Hove
Grade II listed buildings in East Sussex
1825 establishments in England
Music venues in East Sussex
Buildings and structures completed in 1825
Theatres in Brighton and Hove
Hove