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A Confusion of Names

  • 16 Jan 2012
  • Theatre
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The fact that there were two Music Halls in the 1870s, and that Hill called his The Canterbury Music Hall, then the New Concert Music Hall, needs some explanation. The Cornmarket Music Hall had been built as a Corn Exchange, but the promoters had been beaten to it by a rival political group who built their Exchange in Angel Street. The Exchange in the Cornmarket, being redundant, was converted to a concert hall, but called The Music Hall. The explanation is that Hill called his music hall (where drinks were served in the hall) the New Concert Hall to break down middleclass prejudice and bring in a wider audience. The Lowesmoor house wanted respectability, and the Cornmarket house wanted popularity. To make matters worse, both had several names. The New Concert Hall, mostly called The Canterbury became the Prince of Wales; and the Music Hall in the Cornmarket became the Public Hall, then just previous to its demolition in 1966, it became known as The Majestic.