Settle Victoria Hall is a

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 ...

concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage (theatre), 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 ...

in Kirkgate,

Settle Settle or SETTLE may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Settle, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Settle, North Yorkshire, a town in England ** Settle Rural District, a historical administrative district Music * Settle (band), an in ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England. It is the UK's oldest surviving

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

. Built in about 1852, and designed by

Sharpe and Paley Sharpe, Paley and Austin are the surnames of architects who practised in Lancaster, Lancashire, England, between 1835 and 1946, working either alone or in partnership. The full names of the principals in their practice, which went under variou ...

, it opened as Settle Music Hall on 11 October 1853. It was the brainchild of local philanthropist Rev. James Robinson, an active member of Settle Choral Society, who proposed that "the building should be such as to answer all the purposes of public instruction and entertainment". Early shows at Settle Music Hall included recitals of classical music, educational lectures and classes, and popular entertainments. It was renamed "The Victoria Hall" around November 1892. From 1919 until 1939, Victoria Hall also operated as a cinema, initially as "The Picturedrome" and later as the "Kirkgate Kinema". In 1921, the building was bequeathed by the Robinson family to

Craven District Council Craven may refer to: * Craven in the Domesday Book, an area of Yorkshire, England, larger area than the district ** Craven District, a local government district of North Yorkshire from 1974 to 2023 Places * Craven, New South Wales, Australia, se ...

Settle Victoria Hall was restored in 2000, under the management of the newly formed Settle Victoria Hall Ltd, a

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

, which was established in 1999 and presents a wide programme of drama, comedy, film, and music as well as community events, workshops, and indoor markets. The building is owned by

References

External links

Official website
1853 establishments in England Former cinemas in England Grade II listed buildings in North Yorkshire Music hall venues in the United Kingdom Music venues in North Yorkshire Victoria Hall Sharpe and Paley buildings {{music-venue-stub