Wolverhampton Civic Hall
Wolverhampton Civic Hall
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| Location | Wolverhampton, England |
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| Coordinates | 52°35′12″N 2°07′51″W / 52.5866°N 2.1307°WCoordinates: 52°35′12″N 2°07′51″W / 52.5866°N 2.1307°W |
| Owner | Wolverhampton City Council |
| Type | Civic |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 16 May 1938 |
| Expanded | 2001 |
| Website | |
| www |
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Wolverhampton Civic Hall is a music venue in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It has been one of the most notable live music venues in the county for several decades. It is part of a complex also including Wulfrun Hall and the Slade Rooms (previously known as The Little Civic). The complex is owned and managed by Wolverhampton City Council and is a Grade II listed building.
The hall was built in 1938 following a design competition in 1934 won by Lyons and Israel to build a large concert hall and the smaller Wulfrun Hall, for theatre and chamber performances. Construction commenced in April 1936 and the Halls were officially opened on 12 May 1938.
The original halls were refitted and reorganised in 2001 to increase the capacity to over 3,000 and provide new backstage areas and public facilities. In 2001, a third, smaller venue, The Little Civic was opened, but this was replaced by the Slade Rooms on Friday 12 March 2010 at 11:30am.
A Compton Organ was specially designed for the Civic Hall and it is believed that the console was designed by the architects. The organ was made up of over 5,500 pipes and contained an early electronic division known as a Melotone. G. D. Cunningham, then Birmingham City Organist, had the distinction of being the first musician to play there. Two Borough Organists have served Wolverhampton at the Civic Hall, Arnold Richardson (1938–1973) and Steve Tovey (1991–2016), the latter becoming City Organist in 2001.
The Organ was also re-built and enlarged in 2001, and is now capable of being played as a cathedral organ or theatre organ. Regular classical and theatre organ concerts are still held.
The first concert was performed on the evening of 16 May 1938, by the Old Royals Association, with Anne Ziegler, Webster Booth and several other soloists.
The hall has hosted a variety of events since its opening, although they are now mostly popular music based. In recent years the venue has been in competition for many of the bigger acts with Birmingham's O2 Academy, among others.
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