Freda Wilkinson, the Managing Director of Millers Music Centre in Cambridge wrote this opinion piece in June 1965 – and it was spotted here by Mike Petty MBE
“The recent controversy about future public halls in Cambridge brings to mind the changes which have taken place over the last 60 years. At the turn of the century there were the Guildhall [large assembly hall], the Corn Exchange, the New Theatre [demolished in the 1960s opposite the old Police Station], and a number of small halls. Over the years, these are disappearing or, owing to various restrictions, can only be used for limited purposes.
Above – Entrance to the New Theatre (L) and Cambridge Daily News (R) – opposite Mandela House and the old Police Station on Regent Street – now bland offices. From the Museum of Cambridge
“It would appear in those early days, with a much smaller population, the opportunity for concert-going was far larger than today. In 1903, 3,000 people heard Melba sing in the Corn Exchange, and almost half of them standing, as they do at the proms. Many came by horse and trap or horse bus, and maybe eve on penny-farthing bicycles.
“Lighter vein – the Penny Pops“
“Other world famous artistes visited Cambridge, but entertainment was not limited to the celebrities. Up to the 1920s, Saturday Night Penny Pops were organised in the Guildhall (sixpence in the gallery) offering programmes in lighter vein. Local artists sang the latest ‘pop’ songs and ballads; local brass bands and string orchestras and the popular Banjo and Mandolin band augmented the programmes.
“Many people will remember the wonderful series of celebrity concerts that were held in the Corn Exchange up to the 1920s, with the ceiling specially draped with coloured muslin to improve the acoustics.
“Our records show artists on the programmes included Galli Curci, Pachman, Cortot, Mischa Elman, Don Cossacks Choir, Adela Verve, Clara Butt, Pouishnof Kreisler, Elena Gerhardt, Isolde Menges Solomon, Ethel Frank, Freda Hempel, Paul Robeson, and the Lener Quartet.
“Lighter entertainment was provided by The Trix Sisters, Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra, and Rawitz & Landauer. Some of these were accompanied by famous orchestras – the London Symphony and Royal Philharmonic conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham, and other famous conductors.
“At the time the Guildhall held more than 1,800 people, was surrounded by shops and a long term plan to buy this and improve the Guildhall was in progress. Plan were completed for the present offices which surround the Guildhall and also to improve the present hall.
“Somewhere, in a pigeon-hole there is a plan to move the stage to the other end of the hall and build a gallery over the one-storey library (opposite the Corn Exchange), the hall would then have seated more than 1,500 people, and would have provided Cambridge for the last 40 years with a long felt want.
“In the early 1930s, half the scheme was completed, by the second stage of the plan, to improve the hall, was postponed. I think the cost would have been about £120,000. It was disappointing that the only improvements made at the time in addition to the council requirements were the more attractive small hall and the new seats. Unfortunately the extra room required by the new luxurious tip-up seats reduced the accommodation from 1,300 to 900 which includes the seating behind the stage. However, at that time we still had the Corn Exchange.
“In the mid-1930s the Corn Exchange was considered unsafe for international celebrity concerts. It was feared the vibration would loosen the glass roof during concerts and th building was banned for concert use. It was a saving grace that the Regal Cinema was builf. Sunday films were prohibited and therefore was available on Sunday evenings for celebrity concerts. By provision of a specially constructed portable stage, costing nearly £300, which had to be erected and removed after each concert, it was possible to continue the concerts in the cinema (which holds nearly 2,000 people).
“Later, evening Sunday cinemas were approved and another hurdle for the concerts was overcome by providing afternoon concerts, but these had to be early as the stage had to be removed in time to replace the cinema screen in the evening. However, the afternoon did not deter concert goers in Cambridge, and the seats were quickly sold. But alas, Sunday afternoon cinemas were allowed and the international celebrity concerts had to be discontinued and the special wooden stage was burnt.
“Annual Festival – Rates cover loss“
“Encouragement is given by the Arts Council [Founded by John Maynard Keynes] is considerable, but there are still a few professional concerts arranged by private enterprise. Mrs Hackforth should be mentioned and commended for her many years’ work in connection with the “Thursday Concerts” at her own personal risk, and Cambridge is fortunate in the Cambridge University Music Society, the Philharmonic Society, the Linton Festival, and other amateur efforts which are the result of very many hours of voluntary work. [1965 was also the year Jean and Ken Woollard [The latter interviewed in 1974 here] founded the Cambridge Folk Festival].
“The small hall problem has been reduced to some extent as the University and Colleges have allowed the use of King’s College Chapel and the Senate House for suitable programmes, and Ely Cathedral has been the scene of some wonderful evenings. The city festival this year is using every available venue.
“What of the Future?“
It appears Cambridge is facing the loss of the Corn Exchange entirely; the two small halls of the Masonic Hall [demolished during the Lion Yard development]; and if rumour is correct, the use of the present Guildhall which is to be converted into offices. We have seen the New Theatre demolished, and the theatre accommodation reduced to the size of the Arts Theatre, with no replacement at all. There is the possibility if the YMCA and the University Music School again reducing the facilities in the city. (One demolished, the other converted – moving out to West Road).
Above – the old YMCA / Alexandra Hall – oped in 1870, demolished just over 100 years later. From the Museum of Cambridge. (This was one of the photos that sparked my interest in Cambridge’s local history)
“Meetings I have attended seem to indicate the largest hall envisaged will hold around 1,500 people. About a century ago the Guildhall was built to seat 1,300. The population is nearly 100,000 and within the next 100 years maybe the City and the surrounding countryside will probably be half a million.
“Is it sense to suggest, as it has taken us so long to think about renewing the present Guildhall, we should be satisfied with a number of small halls of varying sizes to suit all types of use? We have the ADC, which holds about 200, the Arts Theatre which holds 750. Ought we to pull down the present large room of the Guildhall and build another hall in the Lion Yard before consideration is given to increasing its size as it stands?
“Surely this would save a great deal of money and serve the centre of the city adequately without attracting too much congestion. To crowd everything into the Lion Yard does not appear to be looking forward to the future, because there will be little room to extend if too many things are catered for in our very small centre.
“Would it not be better to envisage a larger building on, for example, Midsummer Common near the new, wide East Road? Surely it is not beyond our architects’ ability to build there, on what is virtually unused land [there were some slum properties and disused old breweries in that area], a large hall could be reduced by partitions to a number of small halls for varying uses but which would hold up to 3,000 people.
Above – from Britain from Above (detail of EPW00058 taken in 1920 of Newmarket Road, Cambridge with Christ Church in the foreground) indicates the area Freda was thinking off – the junction with East Road being a short walk to the right.
“Too cramped – Teachers efforts“
“If it is on Midsummer Common it could also be used in conjunction with the open space around it. I can envisage this hall being capable of the erection of a stage to cater for special productions, ballet and orchestral concerts as well as a conference hall with adequate parking space; kitchens for the use of outside caterers, Women’s Institutes, British Legion; it could even incorporate a gymnasium, and be sufficiently near the ever-increasing Technical College [Now Anglia Ruskin University] to be used on special occasions when any hall which will be built for them will be too small for all its students.
“It would be pleasant to think of the efforts of the Music Teachers’ Association being rewarded by having more children at their annual festival than can be selected now due to the present size of the Guildhall. The handicaps of the Junior Orchestra would also be reduced.”
/Ends
It reads awkwardly in places – I don’t know whether by style or whether it was composed/typeset in a hurry. The historical and social contexts are very important to account for in this piece. For a start the explosion of mass market popular music and the first ‘pop stars’ as we know them today, were a very new phenomenon. The Beatles had only been around for a few years. The concept of mass market replayable music on electronic devices such as record players – combined with ever-growing television audiences reflected a time of huge social and technological change. One perhaps we can only compare with the growth of online streaming and the ability to download and share an infinite number of music files. No longer do the record companies decide what people can and cannot listen to.
The wider changes to Cambridge’s built environment are also hinted at as the council continued with comprehensive redevelopment and slum clearance programmes. The relocation of town centre dwellers to new housing estates in Arbury, King’s Hedges, Chesterton in the north, to Abbey in the East, and to Queen Edith’s in the south, meant that ease of access to existing town centre halls became much more difficult – and dependent on bus services. (Or cars for those that could afford them).
I still struggle to work out how they managed to cram so many people into the Cambridge Corn Exchange and the Guildhall – those standing room only concerts must have been uncomfortable for those attending. Or maybe that’s my error in assuming the people of the city conformed to the very prim-and-proper stereotypes portrayed in the media over the decades – one that is not consistent with the lives that people lived.
The notes on the international artists that visited Cambridge in the inter-war era is interesting, in particular the number of German-sounding names. Furthermore, the comments about the future growth of Cambridge and planning for that growth area also striking – because there was significant debate in town at the time on doing away with the Holford-Wright restrictions of limiting Cambridge’s population to 100,000. Whether Cambridge will reach 500,000 people by 2065 only time will tell. By 2040 – in 15 years time I expect it will have reached 200,000 people on slightly-extended boundaries of the urban area. What any future council boundaries and structures look like also remain to be seen.
The most important point from a performing arts perspective that Freda Wilkinson picks out are building a large enough venue that is also acoustically excellent and magnificent enough to inspire people just by its sheer presence.
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