Manchester Free Trade Hall
1951-1988
Archives
Total copies: 1
Summary:
1. Financial Papers, 1973-1986
2. Diaries, 1951-1988
3. Miscellaneous items, 1955-1987
4. Programmes, 1951-1977
5. Manchester District Official Council Handbooks, 1958-1969
6. Administrative Files, 1952- 1985
7. Performer Files, 1976-1988
Related Material:See Local Studies Library under Manchester Free Trade Hall, Free Trade Hall, Entainments, Politics etc. Also 'A Hall for All Seasons: A History of the Free Trade Hall by Terry Wyke' [72583 Wy].
See MISC/1002 for the Free Trade Hall Visitors' Book, 16 Nov 1951-7 June 1993
See M723/ 6 for Manchester City Engineers file relating to 'The Free Trade Hall' 1918-1940.
Title:
Manchester Free Trade Hall
Date of work:
1951-1988
Reference number:
GB127.M619
Level of description:
Fonds
Includes:
Custodial history:
In December 1839, the Anti-Corn Law League decided to hold a great meeting of its supporters in Manchester in the following month. Previous meetings had been held in the Corn Exchange but such had been the growth in the League's support that this site was now inadequate unless numbers were limited. As the meeting was to be in part a demonstration of the strength, a bolder initiative was called for. Given the time available there was no question of waiting. The League would have to build its own hall immediately.
The question of the site was quickly settled with Richard Cobden offering the temporary use of an open plot of land on the south side of Peter Street between the Bywater Hotel and the Methodist Chapel. This plot was of particular relevance given that it was the site of the infamous Peterloo Massacre, and the land carried an emotional and political significance in the minds of the Manchester Reformers.
The planning and the construction of the hall was put in the hands of William Edwards of a local building firm, Bowden and Edwards. Apart from its location and the speed with which it was erected, the building's most notable characteristic was its size. The interior of the new hall was 150 feet in length and 150 feet in breadth, a covered space of some 15,750 square feet. The hall was constructed almost entirely of timber with two rows of cast iron pillars supporting the roof which divided the interior into three long avenues. Narrow galleries went all the way around the hall.
What some were later to call the first Free Trade Hall was simply referred to by those who had built it as the Pavillion.
In 1842, the League decided to demolish the Pavillion and erect a new hall on the same site. Once again the construction was put into the hands of William Edwards. The new hall was erected with considerable speed. It took, including the decorations and fittings a mere six weeks to complete. The cost was £3000, though the Manchester Anti-Corn Law Association was confident that most of its expenditure would be quickly repaid given the demand for tickets for the opening meetings. However rushed as the project was, there was time to give the building a name; it was christened the Free Trade Hall.
The Free Trade Hall was not simply used as a political auditorium by free traders. Almost immediately after it opened the hall was hired out for a wide range of entertainments including musical concerts. Ironically, the hall became a venue for the larger meetings of local institutions, some of which such as the Athenaeum and the Mechanics Institution also had their own large premises. Political meetings, especially those concerned with liberal causes began to be arranged in the hall. Large and reasonably cheap to hire, the Free Trade Hall became a place to meet to discuss issues that affected the town.
The Free Trade Hall also began to be used regularly for musical events. Within a short space of time it had established itself alongside smaller halls such as the Mechanics' Institute and the Town Hall as a musical venue. A parade of comic entertainers, ventriloquists, singing groups, dancing troupes and acrobats appeared at the hall. In the absence of another large hall in the town the Manchester Free Trade Hall was much in use.
In 1852 it was even proposed to use the Free Trade Hall for theatrical purposes. By the early 1850's it was becoming difficult to think of Manchester without the Free Trade Hall. It may have been originally built in a rush to provide a place in which to hold the meetings of the Anti-Corn League but it was now increasingly being used as a venue for musical concerts and popular entertainments as well as political meetings. Yet the more it was used, the more its deficiencies became apparent.
At the beginning of 1853, a scheme was decided upon to enable the construction of a new Free Trade Hall and architects were invited to present their designs. In the closing days of 1853, a winning de
Access restrictions:
UnrestrictedThis material is stored off site and we require 2 weeks' notice in order to retrieve it.
Use restrictions:
Unrestricted
General notes:
Old Accession Number: 1996/July 26 2005/69
Topics:
Record types:
Manchester Archives and Local Studies
Language:
English
Record number:
7197696