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We’re often asked about the history behind Albert Hall, our wonderful music and events venue, which makes up part of Manchester’s skyline. So, take a step back in time with us, to see where it all began, what, when and who we’ve hosted throughout the years as well as what the future is set to bring...
Back before Albert Hall was even built, since 1793 and potentially before, the space was home to New Jerusalem Church, which also housed The New Jerusalem Day Schools. The latter of which outgrew the building and went on to become Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys. The last years that baptisms and weddings took place was in 1890, after that the building was lost to time…
At the beginning of the 20th century the Methodist Church commissioned the building of around 99 “Central Halls” in cities across the UK. Their intention was to have spaces with “…design (which) was deliberately different from conventional church architecture to appeal to non-churchgoers.” – Dr. Angela Connelly, of the Manchester Architecture Research Centre.
A new Hall was commissioned by the Methodist Church as part of the Manchester and Salford Wesleyan Mission, led by Reverend S. F. Collier, which at the time was the biggest Mission in the world and was fast outgrowing Central Hall on Oldham Street!
So, Albert Hall was designed by Bradford-based architect William James Morley in 1910, and the building that we all recognise today replaced the New Jerusalem Church.
In a beautiful Gothic and Baroque style, clad throughout with Burmantofts terracotta, detailed green, brown and yellow tiling, cast-iron stained glass windows, columns with decorated spandrels, a horseshoe gallery and rostrum with an ornate organ case, Albert Hall firmly marked its place on Peter Street!
Spread across four floors, there were originally lecture halls and classrooms on the ground floor, which is now Albert’s Schloss, then passing through to Albert Hall, the staircases up from the entrance led to the Main Hall, which was host largely to church ceremonies, speeches and special events. Throughout the rest of the building, there were boys’ and girls’ club rooms, a reading room, kitchens, a scullery and Sisters’ offices.
But the church wasn’t disapproving of entertainment; they were big believers in providing affordable social activities to give people an escape from normal life. During their peak, they would fill the Main Hall every Saturday night with cheap concerts and films, peppered with prayers here and there!
One such special event that Albert Hall hosted during its time as a Methodist Chapel was the ‘People’s Concert’. This took place in the midst of World War I and was aimed to boost morale by inviting the public down to embrace Manchester’s music scene and bring people from across the city together, with the headliner being a group of musicians called The Famous Range Concert Company, and admission was “tuppence” or rather twopence, which today is worth around 26 pence!
We commemorated this event in 2017 by recreating the event 21st-century style, but more about that later…
When war broke out in 1939, although it was well in the firing line, as a prominent location in a major city, Albert Hall became a focal point of the community, which kept attending ceremonies and speeches to stick together and help one another pull through the war effort.
Just down the street, the Hallé orchestra’s home, the Free Trade Hall, was sadly bombed, which saw the group find a temporary home at Albert Hall, which surprisingly went totally unscathed throughout the war.
In an article in ‘The Spirit of Manchester’ from the 8th of February 1941, a story was published which describes the service on one evening during The Blitz: “…we were advised to take shelter elsewhere in case the fires which were raging all around claimed our beloved Hall”.
Albert Hall also had its fair share of political speakers taking to the stage, such as, in the midst of his prime ministerial campaign, Sir Winston Churchill! It must have helped as Churchill was re-appointed Prime Minister in 1951.
From what we can see, at some point in the mid-1950s, potentially due to the changing world around them and a sadly dwindling congregation, the Methodist Church sold the lower section of Albert Hall, which is now Albert’s Schloss, and it became a used car showroom, opened by a local business owner.
Sadly, in July 1969, the Methodist Church closed the doors of Albert Hall and transferred their services and support back to Central Hall, on Oldham Street. A farewell service took place, led by the Manchester and Salford Wesleyan Mission’s Brass Band, and the congregation marched across the city, back to their new (but also former) home.
After that, the Main Hall was left totally abandoned and untouched for more than 40 years…
The car showroom on the lower level remained until at least 1973 (the last picture we could find of it), but we can’t be sure it wasn’t around until the 80s.
In the 1990s, sometime after the closure of the used car showroom, the lower section (now Albert’s Schloss) was bought by Cougar Leisure Ltd and transformed into the infamous Brannigan’s Nightclub, which was a popular chain at the time – complete with a light-up, multi-coloured dancefloor and sticky bars. A total contrast to the Methodist Church it had been before!
In 2011, to much dismay, Brannigan’s closed its doors, and the entirety of Albert Hall now stood totally silent…
Surprisingly, after 40 years of slowly fading into the past and collecting dust, the Main Hall was discovered when surveyors took a look at the building. The tale goes that they were surveying the building and knew of a larger, abandoned space above the former Brannigan’s site, but weren’t prepared for what they were to be met with…
Albert’s Main Hall had been used as the occasional storage room for Brannigan’s, the car salesroom, and had fallen into disrepair, but it was still totally intact with its gorgeous features, layered seating, stained glass windows, and even a working organ!
Finally, here we are. In 2013, following much-needed renovations and restoration, Albert Hall re-opened its doors to the public as the multipurpose venue we all know and love today!
The very first gigs were as part of Manchester International Festival that year, which saw us showcase Mogwai performing their celebrated score for Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno’s Zidane, A 21st Century Portrait live for the very first time; Maxine Peake recite all 37 verses of Percy Shelley’s poem The Masque Of Anarchy; Alison Goldfrapp joined by a string section from Royal Northern College of Music and more MIF events.
After that, plenty more shows came to follow with the likes of Anna Calvi, Slint, Angus & Julia Stone, SBTRKT, Moderat, First Aid Kit, Wild Beasts, The War On Drugs, Bombay Bicycle Club, Tame Impala, Frankie Knuckles, Little Dragon and more headlining during the first year of events.
Back in 1917, the Manchester and Salford Wesleyan Mission hosted a ‘People’s Concert,’ and in 2017, we decided to honour its memory!
A lot may have changed in Manchester since the first ‘People’s Concert’, but what will never change is the city’s love of music, and as one of the few historic venues still standing, we were proud to be able to celebrate our heritage.
Headlining back in 1917 was ‘The Famous Range Concert Company’, and guests were treated to a troupe of classical singers, plus a ‘humorous entertainer’. This time it was updated with the times featuring indie-rock geniuses British Sea Power topping a bill which also included the incredible Field Music, Manchester’s iconic Dutch Uncles, local DJ legend Mr Scruff, BBC 6 Music tastemaker Marc Riley and plenty more.
It’s wild to see how far we’ve come and mark each milestone, so when we reached 10 years of our venue in 2023, we knew we had to celebrate…
We hosted a celebratory dinner for those who have paved the way for us and helped make Albert Hall what it is today, from promoters, to press and plenty more. Plus, we created some exclusive limited edition merch featuring a list of most of the artists who have taken to our stage (it was quite a squeeze to say the least). Have you got yours still?
We also hosted some AH10 gigs in amongst our busy calendar, headlined by acts from numerous genres, including Manchester local Róisín Murphy; American heavy rockers OSEES; former member of New Order and Joy Division, Peter Hook & The Light; and an act who joined us in 2013: Mogwai returned to our venue!
Here’s looking forward to another 10 years…
Well, that’s for you and us to create some new memories! We’ve got plenty in-store for you and hope to be stood here on Peter Street in another 100 years, still hosting an array of world-class events.
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