Deacon's Music Hall



 


 


 


 

Deacons Music Hall was originally constructed in 1831, rebuilt on the grounds of Myddelton’s tavern in modern Islington, London area. The hall added on to a tavern originally built in 1631, making way for a popular tea garden, a club room and a concert room. As stated in the Theatres Trust, the old house stood nearly opposite Sadler’s Wells, across the New River, and had a tea garden which was a popular resort for Londoners walking to the fields north of the town before Islington developed”. The ‘Old Crib’ as it was known charged for admission and became a place for public discussion, although admittance was selective. In 1859 James Deacon planned to add seven cottages near the pub garden, but a decision was made to build a proto-music hall instead. In 1861the old tea garden was discontinued and built over with a grander music hall, seating 600 people and amounting to a max capacity of 800 persons, including promenades. In 1884 John William Deacon, the son of James assumed operations and planned to expand the music hall once again, attempting to meet demands in the rise of music hall popularity. The new expansion enlarged the hall to cover all of the remaining land owned by the Deacons. This truly ‘grand music hall’ left the crib and long room untouched, and only expanded the stage and seating outward, making way for a larger capacity of 1,030 persons. The new but irregularly shaped hall is noted in the floorplans as attached in the walking tour. John Earl, a consultant in theatre conservation and research stated that, “Deacon’s was a ramshackle affair, stitched together rather than architected, but it must rate as a grand music hall”. People who attended the hall paid at the pay box, and then were free to seat or gain access to the promenades and bars. The license for the music hall was not renewed in 1891 meaning the hall and its adjoining businesses had lost their means of operating, and the hall was demolished later that year, making way for modern day Rosebery Avenue. Deacons music hall would have been located on the current grounds of Myddelton Place, Finsbury, London, Islington, EC1, England, across the street from the current Saddler Wells Theatre.

Primary Sources

"Graces Alley (1921-1937): Wilton's Music Hall", Google Arts and Culture Archive, Google

Expeditions (Photo) https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/wilton-s-music-hall

"Map of Lambeth area of London circa 1940". Maps of London. http://www.maps-of-

london.com/map-lambeth.htm

"Sunday September 1st, 1861: Wilton's Music Hall" The Era (London England), Issue 1197

"Survey of Islington, 1871". https://maps.nls.uk/view/103312997

Secondary Sources (Non-Scholarly)

"Canterbury Hall". Theatres Trust. (2017).

https://database.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/theatres/show/3182-canterbury-hall

"Deacon's Music Hall". Theatres Trust. (2017).

https://database.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/theatres/show/3251-deacon-039-s-music-hall

"The Canterbury Theatre, 143 Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth, London". Arthur Lloyd,

Music Hall and Theatre History. (2019). http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/canterbury.htm

"The Story of Music Hall". Victoria and Albert Museum.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/the-story-of-music-halls/

Rucki, Alexandra. "Wilton's Music Hall in east London names among top secret holiday spots",

Evening Standard (2014)

"Whitechapel London History". Victorian Era. (2019). http://victorian-era.org/whitechapel-

london-history.html

"Wilton's." History. Accessed February 21, 2019. http://wiltons.org.uk/heritage/history

Scholarly Sources

Assael, Brenda. "Wilton, John (1820-1881), Music Hall Proprietor". Oxford Dictionary of

National Biography (2004)

Baggs, AP., Bolton, Diane K. and Croot, Patricia E C. "Islington: Social and cultural activities,"

in A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8, Islington and Stoke Newington Parishes, ed. T F T Baker and C R Elrington (London: Victoria County History, 1985), 45-51.

Bailey, Peter. Music Hall: The Business of Pleasure. Open University Press: Milton Keynes,

1986.

Barker, Kathleen M. D. "Dance and the Emerging Music Hall in the Provinces." Dance

Research: The Journal of the Society for Dance Research 5, no. 2 (1987): 33-42.

Earl, John. "Building the Halls". Open University Press. (1986). 1-32.

Gore Langton, Robert. "Wilton's Music Hall: The Good Old Days", The Spectator, vol 315,

issue 9530 (2011): 68-9

Luckhurst, Roger. "The Music Hall & Popular Culture." English Literature in Transition 1880-

1920, no. 2 (2006): 194.

Mander R. & Mitchenson, J. British Music Hall. London: 1965.

"New Lease of Life for Historic Music Venue", Music Week no. 36 (2011): 15

Senelick, L. "Politics as Entertainment: Victorian Music-Hall Songs". Victorian Studies, vol 19,

1975-6.

"Wilton's Music Hall: The East End Aka The Old Mahogany Bar" The Methodist Church,

Registered Charity: (2013)

Deacon's Music Hall is unique to our walking tour as its early fate meant it did not survive into the 20th century, but its presence as important provider of public entertainment in the surround area still contributed to entertainment of the masses in Islington. The circumstances surrounding its discontinuation of services make it important to our walking tour as it is one of the music hall few sites to not be converted into a cinema come the 1910's and 20's, despite Deacon's specifically great potential, as noted by historians[1]. The failure to adapt marks a larger era of transition from music and dance to film, and the failure of many music halls in keeping up with trends[2]. The demographic of those who attended Deacon's in the late 19th century was similar to many of the grander music hall's, despite it being one of the earliest halls to exist in London[3]. The conversion of the hall from a tavern, meant practice of serving alcohol and being a hub for public congregation could be carried over to the music hall operation, and many of the working class could come to spend[4]. As public interest (specifically middle class) toward music hall, dance hall and theatres of variety increased later into the 19th century, Deacon's required regular upgrade in order to meet demands and keep up with competition. Nearby Collins Music Hall (which exists to this day & is a short walk) and Sadler's Music Hall across the street (which is also operating, although rebuilt since), competed with Deacon's to attract crowds to their shows[5]. The ability of Collins Music Hall to adapt in the entertainment districts of London, meant business could last a while longer and keep providing for the growing in-house entertainment industry. Many businesses like Deacon's failed to recognize the change in the mass entertainment market, and unlike Collins who diversified to become a theatre of variety and later a cinema, Deacon's became another that fell into irrelevance and was eventually demolished[6].

Description

[1] Peter Bailey. Music Hall: The Business of Pleasure. Open University Press: Milton Keynes,

1986. 10.

[2] "Deacon's Music Hall". Theatres Trust. (2017).

https://database.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/th...

[3] Ibid.

[4] Peter Bailey. Music Hall: The Business of Pleasure. Open University Press: Milton Keynes,

1986. 10.

[5] "Deacon's Music Hall". Theatres Trust. (2017).

https://database.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/th...

[6] Peter Bailey. Music Hall: The Business of Pleasure. Open University Press: Milton Keynes,

1986. 10.

[7] "Deacon's Music Hall". Theatres Trust. (2017).

https://database.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/th...

[1] Peter Bailey. Music Hall: The Business of Pleasure. Open University Press: Milton Keynes, 1986. 10.

[8] John Earl. "Building the Halls". Open University Press. (1986). 10-11

[9] Ibid., 11.

[10] "Deacon's Music Hall". Theatres Trust. (2017).

https://database.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/th...

[11] Survey of Islington, 1871. https://maps.nls.uk/view/103312997


Site Analysis

[1] "Deacon's Music Hall". Theatres Trust. (2017).

https://database.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/th...

[2] Kathleen M. D. Barker. "Dance and the Emerging Music Hall in the Provinces." Dance Research: The Journal of the Society for Dance Research 5, no. 2 (1987): 41.

[3] Peter Bailey. Music Hall: The Business of Pleasure. Open University Press: Milton Keynes,

1986. 10.

[4] Ibid., 11.

[5] A P Baggs, Diane K Bolton and Patricia E C Croot. "Islington: Social and cultural activities," in A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8, Islington and Stoke Newington Parishes, ed. T F T Baker and C R Elrington (London: Victoria County History, 1985), 45-51.

[6] Ibid.

This point of interest is one of many on the GuideTags app –
a free digital interpretive guide that features thematic tours, routes, and discovery sessions,
and automatically tells geolocated stories about the places that surround us.
Download the app today, and start exploring!
Contact us if you would like to create your own content.
Report an error or inappropriate content.

Log in
Legal Disclaimer