115-536: The Hulme Hippodrome in Manchester , England, is a shuttered Grade II listed building , a proscenium arch theatre with two galleries and a side hall. It was originally known as the Grand Junction Theatre and Floral Hall, and opened on 7 October 1901 on the former main road of Preston Street, Hulme , and stage access is from Warwick Street. The Hulme Hippodrome theatre is located in the same building and shares
230-673: A fort named Mamucium in the year 79 to ensure that Roman interests in Deva Victrix ( Chester ) and Eboracum ( York ) were protected from the Brigantes. Central Manchester has been permanently settled since this time. A stabilised fragment of foundations of the final version of the Roman fort is visible in Castlefield . The Roman habitation of Manchester probably ended around the 3rd century; its civilian settlement appears to have been abandoned by
345-598: A local river goddess ). Both usages are preserved in Insular Celtic languages , such as mam meaning "breast" in Irish and "mother" in Welsh . The suffix -chester is from Old English ceaster ("Roman fortification", itself a loanword from Latin castra , "fort; fortified town"). The city is widely known as "the capital of the North". The Brigantes were
460-460: A seaport at Liverpool , the availability of waterpower from its rivers, and its nearby coal reserves. The name Manchester, though officially applied only to the metropolitan district within Greater Manchester, has been applied to other, wider divisions of land, particularly across much of the Greater Manchester county and urban area. The "Manchester City Zone", " Manchester post town " and
575-460: A bank of batteries running at 48 volts. When the two theatres separated legally in 1955 with the BBC purchase of The Playhouse, the deeds required the adjacent Hipp owners to continue to provide hot water for their radiators from October to May each year. There are one or more waste water pumps in the basement to feed the waste into sub-pavement sewers. As late as winter 1905, horse-drawn buses still ran on
690-582: A bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in the Manchester Arena ; the bomb killed 23, including the attacker, and injured over 800. It was the deadliest terrorist attack and first suicide bombing in Britain since the 7 July 2005 London bombings . It caused worldwide condemnation and changed the UK's threat level to "critical" for the first time since 2007. Birmingham has historically been considered to be England or
805-546: A book listing details of English theatres, written largely in the late 1970s, where the Hipp was awarded 'three stars', the highest category used in this book: A detail from a memoir of Mary Jordan, a woman who lived all her life in Hulme, notes that one of the exit routes from the Circle was by a ramp and not by stairs. This is confirmed by architectural drawings held in archives which show that
920-472: A booked seat, to enter the building first and congregate, thus having access to the better seats before the standard-price patrons were admitted behind them. Initially while patrons waited in the Floral Hall there was a fish pond and an aviary (bird cage) to look at, according to architectural drawings in archives. There was also a bike storage area within the hall space. In some research the design of this hall
1035-402: A community resource, where the current owner is seeking permission to build apartments. Its local name in memoirs and records is 'Hulme Hipp'. Its national heritage significance includes being the venue for live recording the first three series of BBC programmes by Morecambe and Wise comedians. The Hippodrome and the conjoined smaller Playhouse Theatre in the same building were built at roughly
1150-597: A covenant from the [licence] applicants that they would not sell intoxicating liquors." This ban on alcohol sales remained until February 1935. Variety theatres in Britain were divided into a hierarchy of three national networks with the top being called 'number one'. This hierarchy collapsed in the mid-1950s "with remarkable speed." Artists were paid the most by number one venues, such as on the Moss Empires Theatres circuit, and once they started to get such bookings they would refuse booking requests from venues lower in
1265-467: A footpath going north towards the new Hulme Crescents . In the 1990s urban regeneration phase the Crescents were demolished and Clopton Walk was reduced in length. Outside the frontage of Hulme Hippodrome today are three footpaths and two cul-de-sacs that meet in a small semi-paved square, almost a courtyard, where Preston Street and Clopton Street were sited previously. Some of the older postcodes used for
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#17328562043521380-559: A large transport and distribution infrastructure: the canal system was extended, and Manchester became one end of the world's first intercity passenger railway—the Liverpool and Manchester Railway . Competition between the various forms of transport kept costs down. In 1878 the GPO (the forerunner of British Telecom ) provided its first telephones to a firm in Manchester. The Manchester Ship Canal
1495-639: A member of the English Core Cities Group since its inception in 1995. The town of Manchester was granted a charter by Thomas Grelley in 1301 but lost its borough status in a court case of 1359. Until the 19th century local government was largely in the hands of manorial courts , the last of which was dissolved in 1846. From a very early time , the township of Manchester lay within the historic or ceremonial county boundaries of Lancashire . Pevsner wrote "That [neighbouring] Stretford and Salford are not administratively one with Manchester
1610-575: A notable place in the history of Marxism and left-wing politics; being the subject of Friedrich Engels ' work The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844 ; Engels spent much of his life in and around Manchester, and when Karl Marx visited Manchester, they met at Chetham's Library. The economics books Marx was reading at the time can be seen in the library, as can the window seat where Marx and Engels would meet. The first Trades Union Congress
1725-423: A party wall with its small sibling theatre, The Playhouse . The Hippodrome was a music hall and variety theatre, a repertory theatre in the 1940s, and hired on Sundays for recording BBC programmes with live audiences between 1950 and 1956. In the 1960s and 1970s it was a bingo hall, and from 2003 used by a disgraced church. The theatre has been closed since 2018 and a campaign group exists to bring it back into use as
1840-442: A peak of 108 in 1853. Thereafter the number began to decline and Manchester was surpassed as the largest centre of cotton spinning by Bolton in the 1850s and Oldham in the 1860s. However, this period of decline coincided with the rise of the city as the financial centre of the region. Manchester continued to process cotton, and in 1913, 65% of the world's cotton was processed in the area. The First World War interrupted access to
1955-642: A population of 2,539,100 in 2004. In addition to Manchester itself, the LUZ includes the remainder of the county of Greater Manchester . The Manchester LUZ is the second largest within the United Kingdom, behind that of London. Religious beliefs, according to the 2021 census Since the 2001 census, the proportion of Christians in Manchester has fallen by 22 per cent from 62.4 per cent to 48.7 per cent in 2011. The proportion of those with no religious affiliation rose by 58.1 per cent from 16 per cent to 25.3 per cent, whilst
2070-457: A route from Manchester to the sea docks on the Mersey. The Bridgewater Canal , Britain's first wholly artificial waterway, was opened in 1761, bringing coal from mines at Worsley to central Manchester. The canal was extended to the Mersey at Runcorn by 1776. The combination of competition and improved efficiency halved the cost of coal and halved the transport cost of raw cotton. Manchester became
2185-459: A title document from 1933 are: "Agreement relating to an annual acknowledgement of £5 12s 6d for Verandahs in Warwick Street and Derby Street [later, Derry Street, now Chichester Road], Town Hall Manchester, 19 October 1926". There were also payments of 2s 6d for "Verandah and Column" and £1 1s 0d for "two electric signs", all same date. These side and end verandas are not seen in photographs from
2300-460: A waiting area for patrons of the Grand Junction / Playhouse, as follows: "In the new Hippodrome, a pass door remained at circle level to the now smaller Grand Junction, which enabled the waiting rooms created from the re-fashioning of the Floral Hall ... to be accessible to all patrons." As well as bands performing on the main stage up to 1960, from details below it seems the Floral Hall (probably
2415-445: Is 2506 square metres (26,975 square feet). The size of the building means that during heavy rain (8mm/hr) 20,000 litres of water (4,300 gallons) needs to be channelled and drained off the roof space per hour. The external ground measurements here are by wheel and by brick count for height. A recent and accurate ' measured survey ' of the property is not known of, and permission to survey inside has been declined. Since around 1965 onwards
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#17328562043522530-522: Is 35.0 miles (56.3 km) north-east of Liverpool and 35.0 miles (56.3 km) north-west of Sheffield , making the city the halfway point between the two. The city centre is on the east bank of the River Irwell , near its confluences with the Rivers Medlock and Irk , and is relatively low-lying, being between 35 and 42 metres (115 and 138 feet) above sea level. The River Mersey flows through
2645-447: Is 806.6 millimetres (31.76 in) compared to a UK average of 1,125.0 millimetres (44.29 in), and its mean rain days are 140.4 per annum, compared to the UK average of 154.4. Manchester has a relatively high humidity level, and this, along with abundant soft water, was one factor that led to advancement of the textile industry in the area. Snowfalls are not common in the city because of
2760-509: Is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester , England, which had an estimated population of 568,996 in 2022. It contributes to the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom as a part of Greater Manchester, which has a population of approximately 2.92 million. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and
2875-496: Is achieved by restricting inappropriate development within the designated areas and imposing stricter conditions on permitted building. Due to being already highly urban, the city contains limited portions of protected green-belt area within greenfield throughout the borough, with minimal development opportunities, at Clayton Vale , Heaton Park , Chorlton Water Park along with the Chorlton Ees & Ivy Green nature reserve and
2990-778: Is also contiguous with Salford and its borough but is separated from it by the River Irwell . This urban area is cut off by the M60 , also known as the Manchester Outer Ring Road , which runs in a circular around the city and these areas. It joins the M62 to the north-east and the M602 to the west, as well as the East Lancashire Road and A6 . The name Manchester originates from the Latin name Mamucium or its variant Mancunio and
3105-452: Is contiguous on all sides with several large settlements, except for a small section along its southern boundary with Cheshire . The M60 and M56 motorways pass through Northenden and Wythenshawe respectively in the south of Manchester. Heavy rail lines enter the city from all directions, the principal destination being Manchester Piccadilly station . Manchester experiences a temperate oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ), like much of
3220-459: Is described as "a rare failure" in the skills of W.H. Broadhead, leading to its re-design c. 1906: Over the later years the atrium has been extensively modified, including division at first floor height with an additional floor and ceiling below, but with its original 1901 features reportedly retained behind the later fixtures. There were between one and three dates (1960s to 1987) for such first-floor conversions, as follows: The glass apex roofing
3335-525: Is one of the most curious anomalies of England". A stroke of a baron's pen is said to have divorced Manchester and Salford, though it was not Salford that became separated from Manchester, it was Manchester, with its humbler line of lords, that was separated from Salford. It was this separation that resulted in Salford becoming the judicial seat of Salfordshire , which included the ancient parish of Manchester . Manchester later formed its own Poor Law Union using
3450-402: Is recorded as within the hundred of Salford and held as tenant in chief by a Norman named Roger of Poitou , later being held by the family of Grelley, lord of the manor and residents of Manchester Castle until 1215 before a Manor House was built. By 1421 Thomas de la Warre founded and constructed a collegiate church for the parish , now Manchester Cathedral ; the domestic premises of
3565-424: Is the UK's largest city-centre shopping centre. Large city sections from the 1960s have been demolished, re-developed or modernised with the use of glass and steel. Old mills have been converted into apartments. Hulme has undergone extensive regeneration, with million-pound loft-house apartments being developed. The 47-storey, 554-foot (169 m) Beetham Tower was the tallest UK building outside of London and
Hulme Hippodrome - Misplaced Pages Continue
3680-669: The Bridgewater Concert Hall , the Manchester Arena , and (in Salford) the rebranding of the port as Salford Quays . Two bids to host the Olympic Games were part of a process to raise the international profile of the city. Manchester has a history of attacks attributed to Irish Republicans, including the Manchester Martyrs of 1867, arson in 1920, a series of explosions in 1939, and two bombs in 1992. On Saturday 15 June 1996,
3795-480: The Christmas Blitz on the nights of 22/23 and 24 December 1940, when an estimated 474 tonnes (467 long tons) of high explosives plus over 37,000 incendiary bombs were dropped. A large part of the historic city centre was destroyed, including 165 warehouses, 200 business premises, and 150 offices. 376 were killed and 30,000 houses were damaged. Manchester Cathedral , Royal Exchange and Free Trade Hall were among
3910-625: The Middle Ages , Manchester remained a manorial township but began to expand "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century. Manchester's unplanned urbanisation was brought on by a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution and resulted in it becoming the world's first industrialised city. Historically part of Lancashire , areas of Cheshire south of the River Mersey were incorporated into Manchester in
4025-499: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out the 1996 Manchester bombing , the detonation of a large bomb next to a department store in the city centre. The largest to be detonated on British soil, the bomb injured over 200 people, heavily damaged nearby buildings, and broke windows 1 ⁄ 2 mile (800 m) away. The cost of the immediate damage was initially estimated at £50 million, but this
4140-453: The University of Manchester and Royal Northern College of Music in the 2011/2012 academic year. Of all households in Manchester, 0.23 per cent were Same-Sex Civil Partnership households, compared with an English national average of 0.16 per cent in 2011. The Manchester Larger Urban Zone , a Eurostat measure of the functional city-region approximated to local government districts, had
4255-644: The urban warming effect but the West Pennine Moors to the north-west, South Pennines to the north-east and Peak District to the east receive more snow, which can close roads leading out of the city. They include the A62 via Oldham and Standedge , the A57 , Snake Pass , towards Sheffield , and the Pennine section of the M62 . The lowest temperature ever recorded in Manchester
4370-539: The " Manchester Congestion Charge " are all examples of this. For purposes of the Office for National Statistics , Manchester forms the most populous settlement within the Greater Manchester Urban Area , the United Kingdom's second-largest conurbation. There is a mix of high-density urban and suburban locations. The largest open space in the city, at around 260 hectares (642 acres), is Heaton Park . Manchester
4485-450: The "Police Commissioners". In 1853, Manchester was granted city status . In 1885, Bradford , Harpurhey , Rusholme and parts of Moss Side and Withington townships became part of the City of Manchester. In 1889, the city became a county borough , as did many larger Lancashire towns, and therefore not governed by Lancashire County Council . Between 1890 and 1933, more areas were added to
4600-432: The 100-year rule. A search of this online database has shown 133 people as "employed by WH Broadhead", and nine people, mostly-different, when the search for the employer is worded as "Hulme Hippodrome", as shown in the table below. Performers may have listed their agent as the employer, rather than their venue on census day. Manchester Manchester ( / ˈ m æ n tʃ ɪ s t ər , - tʃ ɛ s -/ )
4715-685: The 2011 census. The city experienced the greatest percentage population growth outside London, with an increase of 19 per cent to over 500,000. Manchester's population is projected to reach 532,200 by 2021, an increase of 5.8 per cent from 2011. This represents a slower rate of growth than the previous decade. The Greater Manchester Built-up Area in 2011 had an estimated population of 2,553,400. In 2012 an estimated 2,702,200 people lived in Greater Manchester . An 6,547,000 people were estimated in 2012 to live within 30 miles (50 km) of Manchester and 11,694,000 within 50 miles (80 km). Between
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4830-663: The 20th century, including Wythenshawe in 1931. Manchester achieved city status in 1853. The Manchester Ship Canal opened in 1894, creating the Port of Manchester and linking the city to the Irish Sea , 36 miles (58 km) to the west. The city's fortune declined after the Second World War , owing to deindustrialisation, and the IRA bombing in 1996 led to extensive investment and regeneration. Following considerable redevelopment, Manchester
4945-467: The British Isles, with warm summers and cold winters compared to other parts of the UK. Summer daytime temperatures regularly top 20 °C, quite often reaching 25 °C on sunny days during July and August in particular. In more recent years, temperatures have occasionally reached over 30 °C. There is regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year. The city's average annual rainfall
5060-572: The Broadhead circuit of theatres which included Hulme Hippodrome. She appeared also as a solo act in the last week of March 1915. The Tiller Girls dance company (formed in Manchester in 1889) performed at the Hulme Hippodrome (1912) as did Randolf Sutton (1930). From May 1915 the following performance was reviewed: George Formby appeared at the Hulme Hippodrome between 1923 and 1935, including in his own revue, Formby Seeing Life (1925) which
5175-466: The Broadhead-built theatres. The frontage includes ornamentation with white glazed-brick bandings and pilaster strips, with (now faded) painted lettering. The motto of the Broadhead circuit was, " Quick, Clean, Smart and Bright ". The property footprint is 1685 square metres (18,135 square feet, 0.4 acres); two and three storeys (15m height) plus a basement. The whole building footprint (both theatres)
5290-482: The City of Manchester became a metropolitan district of the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester . That year, Ringway , the village where the Manchester Airport is located, was added to the city. In November 2014, it was announced that Greater Manchester would receive a new directly elected mayor. The mayor would have fiscal control over health, transport, housing and police in the area. Andy Burnham
5405-592: The Hipp as a young man before going to America. His stage name at a young age was Stanley Jefferson, being a member of the Fred Karno troupe and reportedly making his professional debut in Manchester. He was on stage with Frank Lisbon and understudying Charlie Chaplin . In 1912 Stan Laurel moved to the USA as part of the Fred Karno company. In 1915 Gracie Fields led in a variety revue called, Yes, I Think So , which premiered on
5520-486: The Hippodrome has "lost its original relationship to the street network" because of the substantial 'slum' or area clearances in Hulme and across the inner city neighbourhoods of Manchester and Salford generally. The Hulme Hippodrome frontage was originally on a main shopping street, Preston Street, and the theatre faced a T-junction being an imposing landmark at the end of Clopton Street, a main road that headed north towards
5635-548: The Industrial Revolution brought wealth to the city, it also brought poverty and squalor to a large part of the population. Historian Simon Schama noted that "Manchester was the very best and the very worst taken to terrifying extremes, a new kind of city in the world; the chimneys of industrial suburbs greeting you with columns of smoke". An American visitor taken to Manchester's blackspots saw "wretched, defrauded, oppressed, crushed human nature, lying and bleeding fragments". The number of cotton mills in Manchester itself reached
5750-467: The UK's second city, but in the 21st century claims to this unofficial title have also been made for Manchester. The City of Manchester is governed by the Manchester City Council . The Greater Manchester Combined Authority , with a directly elected mayor , has responsibilities for economic strategy and transport, amongst other areas, on a Greater Manchester-wide basis. Manchester has been
5865-520: The atom in 1917; Frederic C. Williams , Tom Kilburn and Geoff Tootill developed the world's first stored-program computer in 1948; and Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov first isolated graphene in 2004. Manchester has a large urban sprawl , which forms from the city centre into the other neighbouring authorities; these include The Four Heatons , Failsworth , Prestwich , Stretford , Sale , Droylsden , Old Trafford and Reddish . The city
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#17328562043525980-644: The audience around tables with food and drink. Many researchers use 'music hall' in a broader way without the seating format being the main factor, and this includes the origins and early years of Hulme Hippodrome. From a press report, on 20 February 1908 the Watch Committee of Manchester Corporation met in the Lord Mayor's Parlour in Manchester Town Hall in public to approve theatre licences and to hear complaints about overcrowding in theatres. WH Broadhead
6095-429: The bar. The ornate interior plasterwork was by Messrs Alberti, of Oxford Street, Manchester. The initial seating capacity was 3,300 (the most recent figures are 1,350 and 1,200) and unusually for a theatre the audience originally sat on straight benches, except for seven rows of individual tip-up seats in the centre block of the Circle. Benches were preferred by some theatre managers to squeeze in extra paying patrons for
6210-454: The basement. These were typically used in commercial buildings that originally had a supply of DC ( direct current ) electricity to their plant equipment, so that when the local mains supply was converted to AC ( alternating current ) people could continue to use their older DC equipment. It was cheaper to buy a rectifier than to replace the DC plant equipment. The switch from DC to AC mains was mostly in
6325-474: The beginning of July 2011 and end of June 2012 (mid-year estimate date), births exceeded deaths by 4,800. Migration (internal and international) and other changes accounted for a net increase of 3,100 people between July 2011 and June 2012. Compared with Greater Manchester and with England, Manchester has a younger population, with a particularly large 20–35 age group. There were 76,095 undergraduate and postgraduate students at Manchester Metropolitan University ,
6440-402: The building are no longer officially recognised, for example M15 5JJ, M15 5UP and M15 5FT. In terms of its current relationship to the street network, the Hipp has theatre doors on a remaining eastern boundary cul-de-sac of Warwick Street, M15 5EU. The original tall stage doors, now partially bricked up, are an easy 'get in' and 'get out' for scenery because the pavement (sidewalk) was level with
6555-428: The building exist in public archives, not all of which correspond with the eventual constructed form of the building. The architect was Joseph John Alley (1841–1912), however W.H. Broadhead had previously made his money as a builder and is suggested in research to have had a strong influence in the design and construction. The rectangular shape of the auditorium and the seating arranged in straight lines were distinctive to
6670-486: The buildings seriously damaged; restoration of the cathedral took 20 years. In total, 589 civilians were recorded to have died as result of enemy action within the Manchester County Borough. Cotton processing and trading continued to decline in peacetime, and the exchange closed in 1968. By 1963 the port of Manchester was the UK's third largest, and employed over 3,000 men, but the canal was unable to handle
6785-439: The citizens are still referred to as Mancunians ( / m æ n ˈ k juː n i ə n / ). These names are generally thought to represent a Latinisation of an original Brittonic name . The generally accepted etymology of this name is that it comes from Brittonic * mamm - (" breast ", in reference to a " breast-like hill "). However, more recent work suggests that it could come from * mamma ("mother", in reference to
6900-472: The city centre (Ellis Street follows it part-way now). The theatre was served by trams and buses, including the 62 bus route from Heaton Park via Albert Square to Chorlton, and people from north Manchester would reportedly regularly attend the performances, including children from Prestwich travelling independently by this direct bus. The roads were removed ('stopped up') in the problematic 1960s urban regeneration, around 1965. Clopton Street became Clopton Walk,
7015-512: The city, which had been administered by Lancashire County Council, including former villages such as Burnage , Chorlton-cum-Hardy , Didsbury , Fallowfield , Levenshulme , Longsight , and Withington . In 1931, the Cheshire civil parishes of Baguley , Northenden and Northen Etchells from the south of the River Mersey were added. In 1974, by way of the Local Government Act 1972 ,
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#17328562043527130-455: The college house Chetham's School of Music and Chetham's Library . The library, which opened in 1653 and is still open to the public, is the oldest free public reference library in the United Kingdom. Manchester is mentioned as having a market in 1282. Around the 14th century, Manchester received an influx of Flemish weavers, sometimes credited as the foundation of the region's textile industry. Manchester became an important centre for
7245-475: The dominant marketplace for textiles produced in the surrounding towns. A commodities exchange , opened in 1729, and numerous large warehouses, aided commerce. In 1780, Richard Arkwright began construction of Manchester's first cotton mill. In the early 1800s, John Dalton formulated his atomic theory in Manchester. Manchester was one of the centres of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution . The great majority of cotton spinning took place in
7360-592: The early 1900s. An alternative and more likely explanation for the existence of the rectifier is that it was needed to maintain the charge of the (DC) batteries in the fire system from the (AC) mains. One of the changes of ownership was on 19 December 1955 and the Schedule to a title conveyance document held in the HM Land Registry files notes: "13 November 1901, Agreement (re column and portion of verandah)" and "30 November 1901 Agreement (re verandah)". Further details in
7475-601: The export markets. Cotton processing in other parts of the world increased, often on machines produced in Manchester. Manchester suffered greatly from the Great Depression and the underlying structural changes that began to supplant the old industries, including textile manufacture. Like most of the UK, the Manchester area was mobilised extensively during the Second World War . For example, casting and machining expertise at Beyer, Peacock & Company 's locomotive works in Gorton
7590-531: The floodplain surrounding the River Mersey, as well as the southern area around Manchester Airport. The green belt was first drawn up in 1961. Historically the population of Manchester began to increase rapidly during the Victorian era , estimated at 354,930 for Manchester and 110,833 for Salford in 1865, and peaking at 766,311 in 1931. From then the population began to decrease rapidly, due to slum clearance and
7705-442: The front of the building up to the north-east corner. Each shop unit had their own stairway to a self-contained basement. Known uses from oral histories and photographs include a shoe repairer, a hairdresser, and a tobacconist. The shop frontages were rendered over in 1971 and the units were reconfigured for use as storage areas with access via internal doorways. A mercury arc rectifier made by Slatter & Co of London survives in
7820-514: The ground floor function room) was later used for local music gigs in three phases: 1987-88; 2012-14; and 2017-18. From archived plans, the original frontage was mostly shops with a small area to the north-west corner having an entrance to the theatre and a box office window to the street. In later years a shop in the central area was removed to create a more prominent theatre entrance. The four (possibly five, or six according to one drawing) small shops on Preston Street, odd numbers 47 to 53, were along
7935-699: The hierarchy. Number one venues were mostly in the West End theatre district in London and in some other city centres. Examples of a number one venue were the (First) Manchester Hippodrome on Oxford Road , and the Ardwick Empire (later the New Manchester Hippodrome ) in Ardwick Green. Hulme Hippodrome was a number two venue (based on recollections of older people from Hulme who visited as children, knowing it
8050-563: The highest residential accommodation in Europe when completed in 2006. It was surpassed in 2018 by the 659-foot (201 m) South Tower of the Deansgate Square project, also in Manchester. In January 2007, the independent Casino Advisory Panel licensed Manchester to build the UK's only supercasino , but plans were abandoned in February 2008. On 22 May 2017, an Islamist terrorist carried out
8165-419: The increased building of social housing overspill estates by Manchester City Council after the Second World War such as Hattersley and Langley . The 2012 mid-year estimate for the population of Manchester was 510,700. This was an increase of 7,900, or 1.6 per cent, since the 2011 estimate. Since 2001, the population has grown by 87,900, or 20.8 per cent, making Manchester the third fastest-growing area in
8280-451: The increasingly large container ships. Traffic declined, and the port closed in 1982. Heavy industry suffered a downturn from the 1960s and was greatly reduced under the economic policies followed by Margaret Thatcher 's government after 1979. Manchester lost 150,000 jobs in manufacturing between 1961 and 1983. Regeneration began in the late 1980s, with initiatives such as the Metrolink ,
8395-417: The late 1950s onwards, and it is possible they were removed during the early 1940s as part of the government's campaign to remove outdoor metalwork such as park railings for melting down to make wartime armaments. The heating system was a coal-fired boiler and brick chimney feeding hot water radiators, where the metal pipes were reportedly 10cm (four inches) in diameter; and the emergency lights were powered by
8510-465: The major Celtic tribe in what is now known as Northern England ; they had a stronghold in the locality at a sandstone outcrop on which Manchester Cathedral now stands, opposite the bank of the River Irwell . Their territory extended across the fertile lowland of what is now Salford and Stretford . Following the Roman conquest of Britain in the 1st century, General Agricola ordered the construction of
8625-619: The manufacture and trade of woollens and linen , and by about 1540, had expanded to become, in John Leland 's words, "The fairest, best builded, quickest, and most populous town of all Lancashire". The cathedral and Chetham's buildings are the only significant survivors of Leland's Manchester. During the English Civil War Manchester strongly favoured the Parliamentary interest. Although not long-lasting, Cromwell granted it
8740-529: The meeting "A young lady said she waited outside the [Prince's] theatre one evening for an hour and a quarter, paid a shilling, and then found there was no room." The theatre owners present at the meeting successfully resisted a change to having to adopt the booking system, but in return the committee's decision was that for "the music-halls, the Broadhead theatres, and the Gaiety Theatre the Committee again exacted
8855-581: The mid-3rd century, although the fort may have supported a small garrison until the late 3rd or early 4th century. After the Roman withdrawal and Saxon conquest , the focus of settlement shifted to the confluence of the Irwell and Irk sometime before the arrival of the Normans after 1066. Much of the wider area was laid waste in the subsequent Harrying of the North . In the Domesday Book of 1086, Manchester
8970-467: The name "Manchester". In 1792, Commissioners – usually known as "Police Commissioners" – were established for the social improvement of Manchester. Manchester regained its borough status in 1838 and comprised the townships of Beswick , Cheetham Hill , Chorlton upon Medlock and Hulme . By 1846, with increasing population and greater industrialisation, the Borough Council had taken over the powers of
9085-509: The names and functions of the two adjacent theatres were swapped over in 1906 or 1907: the formerly-named Hippodrome became known as the Grand Junction, and the variety performances and name were transferred to the larger theatre, now the new Hippodrome. The swap also replaced some benches in the Pit and Stalls areas with individual tip-up seats, the most expensive seats, prices ranging from tuppence (1p) to nine pence (4p). While some research states that
9200-427: The neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The city borders the boroughs of Trafford , Stockport , Tameside , Oldham , Rochdale , Bury and Salford . The history of Manchester began with the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort ( castra ) of Mamucium or Mancunium , established c. AD 79 on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell . Throughout
9315-573: The notable black performers who appeared at Hulme Hippodrome in the variety era, including Harry Scott and Eddie Whaley , Cassie Walmer , Will Garland, Chris Gill, and Ike Hatch . In June 1911 the following press preview was given: In June 1915 Will Garland, a Black American entertainer and later a producer, is mentioned in a press review: Will Garland was at Hulme Hippodrome again in March 1917 in Coloured Society . In November 1906 Hulme Hippodrome
9430-453: The owners could save money on gas lighting; and that if the theatre didn't work financially it would be easy to reuse the building as a factory or warehouse with a full number of windows. The Floral Hall was originally a full-height Edwardian atrium or conservatory with a glass apex roof for patrons to promenade indoors while waiting for the auditorium doors to open. The "early doors" system allowed patrons who paid an extra amount, advertised as
9545-432: The popular shows. Gradually in later years more individual seats were installed in phases to replace the benches. The theatre's three-storey fly-tower is at the east side elevation next to Warwick Street with the backstage doors. Some additional doorways were reportedly added to this elevation around the 1960s to provide additional safety exits. This side also includes a square chimney with white glazed-brick decoration. From
9660-627: The programme, and reports of ice shows where the water had to be rapidly frozen in situ on the Sunday for the week ahead. From an illustrated article, the following captions to photographs add some useful details: The main auditorium is a proscenium arch theatre with two galleries - named as the Circle (aka Grand Circle) and the Upper Circle (aka Balcony). The ground floor was divided by price, for example in 1944 advertised as Orchestra Stalls, Stalls, and Pit Stalls. (The ground floor of The Playhouse next door
9775-401: The ramp was replaced by stairs in 1950. One of the unusual features of Hulme Hippodrome was it was built with many windows facing Wilberforce Close, at the rear of the auditorium. These had internal shutters in a sliding sash arrangement to keep the auditorium dark during performances. Two reasons have been suggested for this unusual feature: during the cleaning of the auditorium during the day
9890-546: The range of acts available to local communities, like having a choice of different TV channels. Audiences could also be set in their ways. In 1947 the Bristol Empire theatre, noted as a 'number two' theatre for its variety and revue shows, ran an experiment of showing eight plays. However the chronicler of the theatre reported that the working-class audiences stayed away and the middle-class audiences wouldn't come away from 'their' own theatres. Research has been done into some of
10005-505: The rest of the world does tomorrow." Manchester's golden age was perhaps the last quarter of the 19th century. Many of the great public buildings (including Manchester Town Hall ) date from then. The city's cosmopolitan atmosphere contributed to a vibrant culture, which included the Hallé Orchestra . In 1889, when county councils were created in England, the municipal borough became a county borough with even greater autonomy. Although
10120-696: The right to elect its own MP . Charles Worsley , who sat for the city for only a year, was later appointed Major General for Lancashire, Cheshire and Staffordshire during the Rule of the Major Generals . He was a diligent puritan , turning out ale houses and banning the celebration of Christmas; he died in 1656. Significant quantities of cotton began to be used after about 1600, firstly in linen and cotton fustians , but by around 1750 pure cotton fabrics were being produced and cotton had overtaken wool in importance. The Irwell and Mersey were made navigable by 1736, opening
10235-458: The route between Chorlton-cum-Hardy and Hulme. These 'horse-drawn buses' used metal tracks set into the road. By replacing horses with overhead wire electrification, trams on rails on Manchester roads were first introduced in June 1901. The network peaked in 1928 and electric tram routes were gradually replaced by buses and trolley-buses. The last tram routes ended in 1949 after a pause in decline during
10350-583: The same measurements would be 13.4m, 10m, 15.2m, and the stage width behind the arch would be 22m. It is important to remember that WH Broadhead / JJ Alley designed the Hulme Hippodrome stage for drama, it was only five years later that it became used for variety shows. When WH Broadhead built the Royal Hippodrome in Preston a few years later (1905) as a variety theatre from the outset, the following points were made: Dressing rooms are located directly underneath
10465-462: The same time (1901, 1902) and they were part of the circuit of 17 theatres owned by William Henry Broadhead (1848-1931) located mostly in working class urban areas across North West England. The two venues were reportedly connected by an arcade (some researchers question this feature existed, but it has been confirmed in official files though small in scale). The extensive building was Broadhead's company headquarters. Various architectural drawings for
10580-470: The south of Manchester. Much of the inner city, especially in the south, is flat, offering extensive views from many highrise buildings in the city of the foothills and moors of the Pennines, which can often be capped with snow in the winter months. Manchester's geographic features were highly influential in its early development as the world's first industrial city. These features are its climate, its proximity to
10695-429: The stage as a row of cubicle rooms with plumbing, with connecting stairs. Being used for use as a variety theatre or 'music hall' reportedly the stage wings are relatively shallow, and apparently with no scene dock for storage. Transfers between the stage sides were usually done behind the back cloth. There are reports of the stage floor being strengthened from below with steel props when heavy animals were to be included in
10810-425: The stage. This meant that the raked seats in the stalls were at street level at the back (off Wilberforce Close) and slanted down to reach basement level at the front row (off Warwick Street). Without currently having access, written accounts of the stage dimensions vary slightly. In one account the stage depth is 10m, the width of the proscenium arch is 9m, and the fly tower/ fly loft / grid is 15m. In another account
10925-416: The swap took place in 1905, a newspaper advertisement from June 1906 shows the original arrangement was still in place then, and an archived oral history interview with Bert Briggs states the swap took place in "1906-07". The roots of variety theatre in the UK have been said in some research to be found in the vaudeville format that came from the USA. It extended the previous UK format of music halls , with
11040-498: The towns of south Lancashire and north Cheshire, and Manchester was for a time the most productive centre of cotton processing. Manchester became known as the world's largest marketplace for cotton goods and was dubbed " Cottonopolis " and "Warehouse City" during the Victorian era . In Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the term "manchester" is still used for household linen: sheets, pillow cases, towels, etc. The industrial revolution brought about huge change in Manchester and
11155-441: The tram lines split apart using parallel roads. From research to date including from plans sent to Manchester Council for approval and now held in their archive, the main refurbishments of the complex building appear to be as follows: Initially the larger of the two conjoined theatres staged mainly dramatic productions, while the smaller theatre presented variety performances, but due to the increasing popularity of variety theatre
11270-411: The war years. The map shown here indicates how trams ran one-way on Preston Street outside the Hippodrome, reportedly because the road wasn't wide enough for trams in both directions. An alternative explanation is that the tracks were placed in the centre of each road in a third, segregated lane to reduce delays from congestion around the shops. The Junction Pub / Hotel took its name from the junction where
11385-535: The world. A centre of capitalism, Manchester was once the scene of bread and labour riots, as well as calls for greater political recognition by the city's working and non-titled classes. One such gathering ended with the Peterloo massacre of 16 August 1819. The economic school of Manchester Capitalism developed there, and Manchester was the centre of the Anti-Corn Law League from 1838 onward. Manchester has
11500-576: Was a venue for a wrestling match, and a press report indicates the disorder that followed: In the week 15 to 20 February 1909 Harry Houdini performed at Hulme Hippodrome. From images of a publicity bill, during the "second house" on 17 February 1909 he was challenged to escape from a bespoke restraint made locally by Harry Foster, a saddler based at 4 Upper Jackson Street, Hulme - "horses carefully measured and neatly fitted". There are similar mutual-publicity examples from his performances in other areas. Around 1910 it's reported that Stan Laurel appeared at
11615-562: Was built between 1888 and 1894, in some sections by canalisation of the Rivers Irwell and Mersey, running 36 miles (58 km) from Salford to Eastham Locks on the tidal Mersey. This enabled oceangoing ships to sail right into the Port of Manchester. On the canal's banks, just outside the borough, the world's first industrial estate was created at Trafford Park . Large quantities of machinery, including cotton processing plant, were exported around
11730-410: Was called a "second grade" variety theatre; and press comments). Number three venues tended to be local independents or in the smaller circuits. Number one venues had larger orchestras, and with a wider range of musicians. A benefit of being designated as a lower number venue was that their audiences would often be the first to see new artists. Having all three types of 'number' theatres nearby added to
11845-519: Was described in The Manchester Programme as "a distinct success. He works hard, and as the simple looking lad from Wigan gets the better of most arguments." Reportedly Max Miller played at the Hipp in February 1927 in a Fred Karno production, The Show . He appeared again alongside Ken Dodd in the 1950s, detailed below. The 1921 census was the first survey to record every person's place of work. These records are now public-domain under
11960-484: Was divided as Stalls, and Pit.) From posters, by the 1950s the original name of the Balcony had been changed to the Upper Circle, where the seats could not be pre-booked. The Balcony / Upper Circle contained the cheapest seats and its patrons had to use a separate entrance which led directly to a carpeted stairway up to the seats. People in the Balcony / Upper Circle could not circulate with other patrons, such as making use of
12075-429: Was elected as the first mayor of Greater Manchester in 2017 . At 53°28′0″N 2°14′0″W / 53.46667°N 2.23333°W / 53.46667; -2.23333 , 160 miles (260 km) northwest of London, Manchester lies in a bowl-shaped land area bordered to the north and east by the Pennines , an upland chain that runs the length of northern England , and to the south by the Cheshire Plain . Manchester
12190-843: Was held in Manchester (at the Mechanics' Institute, David Street), from 2 to 6 June 1868. Manchester was an important cradle of the Labour Party and the Suffragette Movement. At that time, it seemed a place in which anything could happen—new industrial processes, new ways of thinking (the Manchester School , promoting free trade and laissez-faire ), new classes or groups in society, new religious sects, and new forms of labour organisation. It attracted educated visitors from all parts of Britain and Europe. A saying capturing this sense of innovation survives today: "What Manchester does today,
12305-434: Was in attendance asking for a licence concession to sell alcohol at Hulme Hippodrome and his other theatres. The packed public attendance had raised petitions and were complaining strongly about 'the queueing system' and instead they wanted 'the booking system'. One theatre (Prince's Theatre, Manchester) had 700 people reported as standing in the Pit area at times, along with blocked exit routes. The queueing system included what
12420-462: Was key to the increase in Manchester's population. Manchester began expanding "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century as people flocked to the city for work from Scotland, Wales, Ireland and other areas of England as part of a process of unplanned urbanisation brought on by the Industrial Revolution . It developed a wide range of industries, so that by 1835 "Manchester
12535-487: Was known at the time as the "early doors" process which gave people a choice of the better seats in return for both paying higher prices and arriving early, and "late doors" referred to the cheaper prices for people who were let in later to take the remainder of the seats. However, people who had paid the early doors prices were complaining about having to wait for hours in bad weather and shopkeepers were complaining about so many people blocking 'their' pavements. For example, at
12650-520: Was quickly revised upwards. The final insurance payout was over £400 million; many affected businesses never recovered from the loss of trade. Spurred by the investment after the 1996 bombing and aided by the XVII Commonwealth Games , the city centre has undergone extensive regeneration. New and renovated complexes such as The Printworks and Corn Exchange have become popular shopping, eating and entertainment areas. Manchester Arndale
12765-467: Was replaced with corrugated sheets, reportedly metal, and this would have been done prior to June 1977 as no Listed Building Consent is on record. From a book with listing details of English theatres, possibly compiled largely in the late 1970s, the details given are of an: "Unusually spacious foyer with delicate cast iron fretted balcony around four sides, the whole giving the effect of a mid-19th century concert room." The Floral Hall could also be used as
12880-692: Was switched to bomb making; Dunlop's rubber works in Chorlton-on-Medlock made barrage balloons ; and just outside the city in Trafford Park , engineers Metropolitan-Vickers made Avro Manchester and Avro Lancaster bombers and Ford built the Rolls-Royce Merlin engines to power them. Manchester was thus the target of bombing by the Luftwaffe , and by late 1940 air raids were taking place against non-military targets. The biggest took place during
12995-423: Was the host city for the 2002 Commonwealth Games . The city is notable for its architecture , culture , musical exports , media links , scientific and engineering output , social impact , sports clubs and transport connections . Manchester Liverpool Road railway station is the world's oldest surviving inter-city passenger railway station. At the University of Manchester , Ernest Rutherford first split
13110-426: Was without challenge the first and greatest industrial city in the world". Engineering firms initially made machines for the cotton trade, but diversified into general manufacture. Similarly, the chemical industry started by producing bleaches and dyes, but expanded into other areas. Commerce was supported by financial service industries such as banking and insurance. Trade, and feeding the growing population, required
13225-462: Was −17.6 °C (0.3 °F) on 7 January 2010. The highest temperature recorded in Manchester is 38.0 °C (100.4 °F) on 19 July 2022, during the 2022 European Heatwave . Manchester lies at the centre of a green belt region extending into the wider surrounding counties. This reduces urban sprawl , prevents towns in the conurbation from further convergence, protects the identity of outlying communities, and preserves nearby countryside. It
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