Rebirth of hall built on land that cost £4 a yard
IT IS the oldest British concert hall still in use and the third oldest in Europe, and last night, in the centre of Bradford, St George’s Hall came alive once more.
For the last two years it had echoed only to the sound of builders as its innards were gutted and then restored, at a cost of £8.5m.
The cost, met by the Heritage Lottery fund and the city council, was somewhat higher – even allowing for inflation – than the transactions which secured its construction in 1854.
Then, Titus Salt, the benevolent textile baron who built a mill and a model village for his staff, down the river at Saltaire, paid £4 a yard for the land on the corner of Hall Ings and Bridge Street, on the
The renovation has been done to an exceptionally high standard. Sarah Ferriby, culture representative for Bradford Council.
understanding that the “hall company” should have as much as they required at that price.
Sarah Ferriby, culture representative for Bradford Council, said the renovation, which included a new roof and repairs to the Yorkshire stone walls and columns, had been done “to an exceptionally high standard and will ensure the venue can be enjoyed by many future generations”.
The singer Barbara Dickson reopened the venue last night, and Hallé Orchestra will perform the opening concert in its orchestral season next Thursday.
The entertainment appears to be of a higher order than at other times in the hall’s history. During the repairs, workers found a programme from 1871 for a “Saturday night entertainment” of songs and stories by Mr and Mrs Forster O’Neill, with their daughter, Flora on the piano.