Description of site

The Canterbury Music Hall and later the Canterbury Theatre of Varieties, once located at 143 Westminster Bridge Road in Lambeth, London, housed many forms of mass entertainment to Londoners from 1852-1942[1]. Charles Morton was an experienced architectural builder, who adapted his Music Halls to keep up with the best trends in pub entertainment, concert and theatre[2]. Growing trends towards musical entertainment, meant the Tavern Music Hall's original site he had built had become small in size with a max capacity of only 700 persons, and needed upgrade[3]. In 1855, after three years of success, Morton acquired land surrounding the hall, and set about adding a larger hall to house bigger crowds while leaving the original hall in operating form[4]. The programme was thus only halted for a few days in between construction, meaning public usage remain un-interrupted. The new hall boasted a 1500-person capacity, and had new chandeliers, an art exhibition and a grand balcony[5]. Its success was met with another reconstruction in 1876 at a price of £ 40,000, and was thus renamed the 'Canterbury Theatre', as it grew in size to nearby lots and now included three tier viewing[6]. The expansion meant that nearby housing was purchased and torn down, making room for multiple venues of entertainment, classifying it as a true theatre of variety. As times once again changed and many music halls lost their purpose to the rise of cinema, Canterbury Hall was adapted in the early 1900's to show film, after decades of changing ownership[7]. In the 1910's it would regularly show variety shows along with films, but by the 1940's, the showings were strictly of cinema. After being bombed in 1942 during the second world war, the Halls life met its end, as it remained unused and abandoned until being demolished in 1955. The current location leaves no traces of its former glory, as the hall would have stood along current sites of parking, small business and where Westminster Bridge Road meets Lower Marsh Lane[8].

Site Analysis

The Canterbury Hall encompassed many forms of entertainment and was among one of the most popular entertainment Hall locations in London from 1852-1942. The Hall is important in understanding the various mass forms of entertainment as the hall went through multiple transition periods to meet popular culture and the growing demand for entertainment amongst all classes. As a local hotspot for entertainment, many locals and visitors to Lambeth looked for cheap nightly entertainment in the area and found it at Canterbury. This music hall is significant in its contribution to the entertainment industry as it became a symbol of locality in Lambeth and both entertained and employed hundreds of entertainers and service workers[1]. As demands by middle class families for variety entertainment spread to adjacent classes, the popularity and scope of music halls and theatres of variety expanded as well[2]. Canterbury specifically did not cater to the upper class either, as historians have noted that the hall boasted a great mixing of classes and genders throughout its history, and in the early stages, entry was free[3]. Reports on the audience in the hall and further historical support suggest that the intermingling of classes was common here, despite a clear separation by priced seating, meaning that working class men and women regularly attended[4]. While women in many other music halls were prohibited from sitting in, the halls original owner Charles Morton encouraged women to attend, even introducing 'Ladies Thursdays'[5]. A major issue with this music hall and others of the time however, was the depiction of these theatres of entertainment as vulgar places. By the early 1900's it was well known that many hall's, including those of Mortons were flooded with booze and prostitutes who were encouraged to operate within the halls walls[6]. These issues were something that city officials and owners wrestled over until the death of the music halls, along with worker strikes that petitioned for better pay of performers[7]. As many music halls began to decline in popularity in the 1920's and 30's, many were forced to close their doors or adapt to other growing trends. The Canterbury Hall thus after many ownership changes, reopened as a cinema and continued to show film until its destruction during WWII[8]. While this site does not exist today, it remains as an icon of the music hall industry and the star of those built by Charles Morton[9]. The ability of the site to adapt to growing trends, invite females to attend and set forth early intermingling of upper and lower classes provided for an era where mass entertainment truly could be enjoyed by the masses.

Primary Sources

"Graces Alley (1921-1937): Wilton's Music Hall", Google Arts and Culture Archive, Google

Expeditions (Photo) https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/wilton-s-music-hall

"Map of Lambeth area of London circa 1940". Maps of London. http://www.maps-of-

london.com/map-lambeth.htm

"Sunday September 1^st, 1861: Wilton's Music Hall" The Era (London England), Issue 1197

"Survey of Islington, 1871". https://maps.nls.uk/view/103312997

Secondary Sources (Non-Scholarly)

"Canterbury Hall". Theatres Trust. (2017).

https://database.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/theatres/show/3182-canterbury-hall

"Deacon's Music Hall". Theatres Trust. (2017).

https://database.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/theatres/show/3251-deacon-039-s-music-hall

"The Canterbury Theatre, 143 Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth, London". Arthur Lloyd,

Music Hall and Theatre History. (2019). http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/canterbury.htm

"The Story of Music Hall". Victoria and Albert Museum.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/the-story-of-music-halls/

Rucki, Alexandra. "Wilton's Music Hall in east London names among top secret holiday spots",

Evening Standard (2014)

"Whitechapel London History". Victorian Era. (2019). http://victorian-era.org/whitechapel-

london-history.html

"Wilton's." History. Accessed February 21, 2019. http://wiltons.org.uk/heritage/history

Scholarly Sources

Assael, Brenda. "Wilton, John (1820-1881), Music Hall Proprietor". Oxford Dictionary of

National Biography (2004)

Baggs, AP., Bolton, Diane K. and Croot, Patricia E C. "Islington: Social and cultural activities,"

in A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8, Islington and Stoke Newington Parishes, ed. T F T Baker and C R Elrington (London: Victoria County History, 1985), 45-51.

Bailey, Peter. Music Hall: The Business of Pleasure. Open University Press: Milton Keynes,

1986.

Barker, Kathleen M. D. "Dance and the Emerging Music Hall in the Provinces." Dance

Research: The Journal of the Society for Dance Research 5, no. 2 (1987): 33-42.

Earl, John. "Building the Halls". Open University Press. (1986). 1-32.

Gore Langton, Robert. "Wilton's Music Hall: The Good Old Days", The Spectator, vol 315,

issue 9530 (2011): 68-9

Luckhurst, Roger. "The Music Hall & Popular Culture." English Literature in Transition 1880-

1920, no. 2 (2006): 194.

Mander R. & Mitchenson, J. British Music Hall. London: 1965.

"New Lease of Life for Historic Music Venue", Music Week no. 36 (2011): 15

Senelick, L. "Politics as Entertainment: Victorian Music-Hall Songs". Victorian Studies, vol 19,

1975-6.

"Wilton's Music Hall: The East End Aka The Old Mahogany Bar" The Methodist Church,

Registered Charity: (2013)

Site Description

[1] "The Canterbury Theatre, 143 Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth, London". Arthur Lloyd,

Music Hall and Theatre History. (2019). http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/canterbury.htm

[2] "Canterbury Hall". Theatres Trust. (2017).

https://database.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/th...

[3] "The Story of Music Hall". Victoria and Albert Museum.

[4] "Canterbury Hall". Theatres Trust. (2017).

https://database.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/th...

[5] "The Story of Music Hall". Victoria and Albert Museum.

[6] "The Canterbury Theatre, 143 Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth, London". Arthur Lloyd,

Music Hall and Theatre History. (2019). http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/canterbury.htm

[7] "The Canterbury Theatre, 143 Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth, London". Arthur Lloyd,

Music Hall and Theatre History. (2019). http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/canterbury.htm

[8] "Map of Lambeth area of London circa 1940". Maps of London. http://www.maps-of-

london.com/map-lambeth.htm

Site Analysis

[1] Peter Bailey. Music Hall: The Business of Pleasure. Open University Press: Milton Keynes, 1986. 40-42

[2] R. Mander & J. Mitchenson. British Music Hall. London: 1965. 26.

[3] L. Senelick. "Politics as Entertainment: Victorian Music-Hall Songs". Victorian Studies, vol 19, 1975-6. 149-50.

[4] Peter Bailey. Music Hall: The Business of Pleasure. Open University Press: Milton Keynes, 1986. 76-82

[5] "The Story of Music Hall". Victoria and Albert Museum.

[6] Peter Bailey. Music Hall: The Business of Pleasure. Open University Press: Milton Keynes, 1986. 118

[7] "The Story of Music Hall". Victoria and Albert Museum.

[8] "The Canterbury Theatre, 143 Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth, London". Arthur Lloyd,

Music Hall and Theatre History. (2019). http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/canterbury.htm

[9] "Map of Lambeth area of London circa 1940". Maps of London. http://www.maps-of- london.com/map-lambeth.htm & "The Canterbury Theatre, 143 Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth, London". Arthur Lloyd, Music Hall and Theatre History. (2019). http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/canterbury.htm