Bolton Festival Hall

Image: © David Dixon Taken: 22 Nov 2013

At the centre of the Town Hall, when it was opened in 1873, was the magnificent Large Hall - soon to be named the Albert Hall. This served as the heart of the Town's cultural life for over 100 years, hosting hundreds of concerts, shows, bazaars, exhibitions, and other events. On 14 November 1981 a devastating fire took hold of the Albert Hall. The Fire Service fought a long battle to contain the blaze, saving the rest of the Town Hall from total disaster. Sadly, although the walls of the Albert Hall retained their structural integrity, the roof collapsed and almost all of the plasterwork and fittings, including the Grand Organ, were completely destroyed. Given the shortcomings of the old Hall (the vast proportions and inflexibility of the space, coupled with notoriously poor acoustics caused by the very high ceiling had led to a slow decline in its popularity) it was decided not to restore it to its earlier state, but to create two new, complementary venues in the old space. This is the smaller, more intimate, Festival Hall on the lower level. A new, more adaptable (and acoustically pleasing) Albert Hall was created in the space above. http://www.boltonsmayors.org.uk/0-albert-halls.html shows pictures of the Albert Hall before the fire.

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