Thurston's Hall
| Leicester Square Hall (from 1947) | |
Thurston's Hall in 1903
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| Address | 45-46 Leicester Square London England |
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| Current use | Fanum House |
| Opened | 1901 |
| Closed | 1955 |
| Years active | 1901-1940,1947-1955 |
Thurston's Hall was a major billiards and snooker venue between 1901 and 1955 in Leicester Square, London. The hall was in the premises of Thurston & Co. Ltd who relocated to Leicester Square in 1901. The building was bombed in 1940 and reopened under a new name, Leicester Square Hall, and new management in 1947. The venue closed in 1955 and the building was demolished to make way for an extension to Fanum House. The Hall was used for many important billiards and snooker matches, including 12 World Snooker Championship finals between 1930 and 1953. It was also the venue of the first World Snooker Championship match in November 1926. The hall was sometimes referred to as "Thurston's Grand Hall". There was also a "Minor Hall" in the same building.
In 1900 Thurston & Co. Ltd. were forced to relocate from their premises at 16 Catherine Street because it was in the way of a new street from Holborn to the Strand. They moved to 45-46 Leicester Square and built new premises there, including a "match room" which became known as "Thurston's Hall". The first important event hosted at the new venue was the Billiards Association American Tournament. This was a round-robin handicap event featuring 8 professionals and ran from 7 to 12 October 1901. The event resulted in a tie between William Peall and Harry Stevenson, with 6 wins out of 7. There was a play-off on the Monday. Peall received 100 start but Stevenson won 500–395.
On 16 October 1940, during The Blitz, the Leicester Square premises were destroyed by a parachute mine which demolished the south-western corner of the square. Only two minor injuries were reported. The building was housing an "exhibition of billiards antiquities" at the time and many of the items were destroyed. The last major event at the hall was the English Amateur Billiards Championship which was won, on 5 April, by Kingsley Kennerley for the fourth successive time. A "summer" professional snooker tournament was started on 15 April but was abandoned in May.
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