The Royal Pavilion, was built opposite the Fishpond Hotel in 1910, at a cost of £10,000. Before and during the first war it was called the Kursaal. It was the venue for cultural events such as the Musical Festival and dances were also held in the ballroom. The Local Council had offices in one wing and a branch of the library was housed here in the 1950's and 60's. It is now the home of the Mining Museum and Tourist Information Centre.
The Derbyshire Dales District Council is proposing to 'dispose' of The Pavilion in Matlock Bath; worst case scenario is that the building is sold and demolished.
We in Matlock Bath are campaigning to restore The Pavilion for the community and its visitors. If you would like to help our cause you are warmly invited to join our group.
Any ideas or help at this moment will be gratefully received. Any bands, dance groups, artists, sporty types, social groups etc - this could be the place for you! So make sure we know about you and your ideas.
This is an exciting time !
We would love to hear from you so please leave your comments below. Thank you for your support.
It would be such a shame to lose this iconic building.
ReplyDeletedon't let the developers have it.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant campaign - wish you every success. How about using the Pavilion as a local farmers / traders / artists market - giving local, independent businesses an opportunity to trade directly with visitors and residents? Good for tourists, good for locals, good for Matlock B and good for the Pav!
ReplyDeleteHannah
Good luck
Please respond to the Public consultation on the future of the Pavilion. The deadline is the 18th of January and we really need (lots of) letters!
ReplyDeleteAll the details can be found here:
http://www.derbyshiredales.gov.uk/leisure_and_Culture/grand_pavilion/default.asp
There is an information sheet at the bottom of this webpage.
Gregor
The Matlock Bath Pavilion must be the largest "venue" for miles around and could be a fantastic asset for both the local community and visitors to the Derbyshire Dales. Surely "How to save" rather than "Why save" is the issue which needs to be addressed by the DDDC and the people who live in the vicinity of the "Pav"....please don't let this wonderful building, with such enormous potential, continue to be underutilised
ReplyDeleteThe future of the Pavilion must be protected. We have seen, here in Derby with the case of the Hippodrome, what happens when private enterprise is allowed to determine the fate of our heritage. It seems that only when they are gone do we recognise their true worth.
ReplyDeleteRegarding it's future, use as a multi-functional space (market / concerts / exhibitions etc) must be the way to proceed. It is a community asset and should be supported by the community, both directly and indirectly.
Mike Hudd
Spreading the News Save the Pavillion Article in the Derby Evening Telegraph today Tues 12/01/10 http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/news/Bring-Beatles-days/article-1695821-detail/article.html
ReplyDeleteEspecially in the summer months dont forget the motorcyclists i know it was very popular on sundays for them maybe that can be utilised.
ReplyDeleteThe Save the Matlock Bath Pavilion group is intending to make a booklet of people's memories, anecdotes, stories, photos, posters of the Pavilion from over the years.
ReplyDeleteShe says: "I am sure the building has been very special to many people during its lifetime. How many people fell in love there? Proposed to or agreed to marry their sweetheart? What was the Beatles concert like? Did anyone work in the glove factory? Has anyone really seen one of the ghosts? Etc Etc If anyone has any memories of their own could you please e-mail them to me, or if you know of anyone else who may be able to contribute could you please encourage them to get in touch. I’ll happily arrange to visit people and take stories down as they tell me."
If anyone can help, could you please email her at:
penny.macgregor@btopenworld.com
Many thanks.
Hi all.
ReplyDeleteIts sad to hear this building is now empty. Now as to ghosts? Years ago my sister-in-law (Anne) was bookkeeper at the Pavilion, whilst staying on holiday (mid 1970) aged about 12 I was helping the handyman (her grandfather Walter Bird) fix some lights on the stage. whilst waiting for him an elderly man in evening dress walked past me across the stage and disappeared into my sis-in-laws office, having said hello to him and got no response I followed him into the office to find it empty apart from Anne, I asked her where he had gone and she just said "who?"!
Later there were some publicity photos taken from the lighting gallery of the dance hall, I was in the gallery when these were take by a local professional photographer, he quickly returned with a print distinctly showing a shadowy tall figure wearing a helmet and carrying a pickaxe standing in the middle of the dance floor. This photo was in Anne's office for a time and I would love to know what happened to it? Does anyone know?
Regards.
Neil Barker.
Darwen. Lancashire.
neilb62@hotmail.com
We stayed at the Temple Hotel a couple of weeks ago and would have liked somewhere to go at night for some entertainment, could the Pavilion fulfill this need?
ReplyDeleteWe were talking how Matlock Bath used to be in the 60s/70s, its still beautiful. We couldn't beleive that the Pavilion could go, please save it!
Just to add my support to th SaveMBPav; an arts venue, exhibition space and local usage...
ReplyDeleteSarah
Hi
ReplyDeleteI fully support and applaud all your wonderful efforts to save the Pavilion.
However I think that just restoring the building to its former self, Theatre/Ballroom is just not enough and not relevant or indeed competitive for today’s theatre going public.
To have a hall with 400 seats will indeed be more than a local school and village hall but will not be enough of a draw to bring people in from Derby or Buxton where your main competition should be.
I am speaking as an ex professional contemporary/ballet dancer who has spent almost 20 years on stages all over the world.
I would like to suggest the need for raked seating and a lower, wider, deeper stage. The sight lines just won’t be good enough as your plans stand at the moment.
Forget about having a ballroom. The Whitworth has one, no need for another.
Let’s have a theatre that will bring in all manner of acts: Theatre, Comedy, Dance, Concerts. Be able to accommodate an annual line up that will be a part of the national theatre circuit and be able stand tall alongside Derby and Buxton.
For this to happen the whole building needs to be gutted. The museum and tourist information has to be moved so we could have a theatre with stalls (raked seating) a dress circle (more seats, more income).
By taking the stage down to ground level this would free up more space above for a real fly tower and give more space to a larger stage. Also acts would then not be limited as to what set to bring that fits into the lift.
As i first stated i am behind your efforts 100% and think your work to date is admirable.
Keep up the good work.
I work for a construction company and see wonderful architectural buildings being demolished and replaced by some ugly out of place building instead all the time, its so sad. Save this fantastic bit of Matlock Bath history, the Pav could serve such an important part with bringing revenue back to the area, Matlock used to be such a thriving town with many bars but now it has sadly died, dont let the same happen to the Bath as well. Concerts, live bands, shows, events, function room for hire, the uses are endless!! Rachael
ReplyDeleteI spend many happy weekends in the night club part in my youth
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful building and lots of fun times
Hope you succeed in reopening