- Music Hall, Shrewsbury
-
Coordinates: 52°42′25″N 2°45′17″W / 52.7069°N 2.7548°W
The Music Hall in Shrewsbury, England, is a large Victorian building owned by Shropshire Council and currently houses the town's theatre and central Visitor Information Centre, as well as a cafe and some council offices.
It is located on The Square in Shrewsbury town centre. In front of it is the Old Market Hall, now used as the borough council's cinema which was formerly housed within the Music Hall itself.
The site was once the location of the town's fire service and the passage which runs through The Music Hall and out onto Swan Hill is called Fire Office Passage. A sign mentioning this is to be found on the right hand side as one enters the music hall from The Square. To the rear of the music hall is Vaughan's Mansion, a substantially intact 13th century stone and timber framed hall-house formerly owned by one of the town's most important families but largely obscured my later additions. The building also includes a basement that was intended for use as a nuclear fallout shelter and a number of Police 'holding' cells where prisoners were held whilst attending the court that used to sit in the Old Market Hall in the Square. It is rumoured that an underground passage exists linking the two sites and was directly connected to the dock in the court room?
The borough council are currently building a new theatre and entertainment venue in Frankwell, named 'Theatre Severn', about a mile from The Music Hall which is due to open in March 2009. The theatre will therefore move to this new complex at the beginning of January 2009. Following the move, The Music Hall will likely be used as the town's main museum, retaining the cafe and Visitor Information Centre. Currently the museum is located in Rowley's House, on Barker Street.
The Music Hall had it last performance on 4 January 2009.
See also
External links
- Shrewsbury music hall - official site
- Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council
Categories:- Theatres in Shropshire
- Buildings and structures in Shrewsbury
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.