A short history of The Civic
Few regeneration projects in South Yorkshire have been as eagerly anticipated as the redevelopment of Barnsley’s former Civic Hall. Situated at the heart of the town centre, the Civic is an iconic building that has been an important part of Barnsley’s cultural heritage for over 130 years.
After nearly a decade since the final curtain closed on the original building, the Civic is set to re-open, providing the town with a focal point for its thriving creative and cultural industries.
South Yorkshire has been quick to recognise the potential offered by the growing creative and digital industries sector, which is responsible for contributing over £1 billion to the region’s economy and generating employment for over 25,000 people. The new Civic development aims to consolidate Barnsley’s position within this vital area of economic growth, fusing the historical association of the building with the arts, as well as helping to equip the town with much needed new facilities to allow businesses in the region to compete effectively in the 21st century.
Since the original Civic building was erected in 1877, it has consistently grown and evolved to meet the ever-changing needs of the town. The Civic has served Barnsley in many guises since it first opened its doors and, at various points in its history, it has been home to a natural history museum, public hall and even a library. But perhaps the Civic is best known for being the home of Barnsley’s Civic Theatre.
Timeline
In the beginning...
1873 Land in Eldon Street bought by Barnsley Mechanics’ Institute and Literary Society for £3000. Shares offered in proposed Public Hall. £15000 raised.
1876 Foundation stone laid by Master Bruce Canning Vernon Wentworth
1877 Funds prove inadequate. Henry Harvey comes to the rescue with a mortgage
Barnsley Mechanics’ Institute and Public Hall
1878 Official opening ceremony
1879 Building severely damaged by fire
1889 Charles Harvey, brother of Henry and inheritor of Henry’s mortgage, forecloses. The greater share of the property becomes his. For legal reasons- since there other shareholders- he puts the building up for auction but places on it a reserve that will not be reached. He is then at liberty to present the building to the town- on the condition that it is used to house a free library.
1890 Building re-named Harvey Institute.
The Harvey Institute
1890 Building successfully operated by Town Council for the presentation of ‘entertainments and the arts’ as requested by the donor. Also becomes Barnsley’s most important place of assembly. School of Art and Technical College housed in the building.
1902 ‘Moving Pictures’ shown at Public Hall for the first time to great public acclaim.
1908 16 children die in accident at matinee of ‘moving picture’ show.
1914 Barnsley Pals meet at the Harvey Institute to go to war.
1921 Lloyd-George made Freeman of Barnsley- ceremony at Harvey Institute.
1928 Municipal cinema shows commence.
1929 Barnsley’s first ‘talkie’, ‘Mothers Boy’ starring Morton Downey, shown in the Harvey Instiute
1932 New Technical College opened ending the Public Hall’s role Technical College
1941 Public Hall converted to Civic Restaurant under Ministry of Food. Scene of many war time memories.
1948 Museum of Natural History occupies rooms vacated by School of Art.
1962 Major restoration scheme completed. Building renamed Barnsley Civic Hall.
Barnsley Civic Hall
1963 American Blues legend, Champion Jack Dupree appears at the Civic for the first of what will be four visits between now and 1966.
1964 First of the annual Christmas pantomimes staged. The show ‘Aladdin’ runs for three weeks.
1965 Natural History Museum vacates the building and a new suite of rooms if planned.
1968 The Centenary Rooms, named in hour of the centenary of the Borough of Barnsley, opened by the Mayor.
1975 The Library Service ends its long standing connections with the building when new Central Library is opened in Shambles Street.
1976 Plans drawn up to convert the former Library premised into a modern banqueting suite and to tier the Civic Hall auditorium creating a permanent theatre.
1978 The most successful stage show ever produced in the Hall, the pantomime ‘Snow White and the Seven dwarfs’, plays to an audience of nearly 70,000 during it’s eight week season.
1988 A 14 year old Denise Van Outen appears at the Civic Hall as Wendy a pantomime production of Peter Pan.
mid 1990s With dwindling audiences and spiralling costs, the Civic Hall faces a growing number of repairs and maintenance work.
1998 On 4th January the final performance of Cinderella at Civic takes place. Following the run, the curtain falls on the Civic Theatre for the last time. Attempts to secure funds to restore the theatre are unsuccessful.
Regeneration and the Future
2005 Plans by the Barnsley development Agency to redevelop the Civic attract funding from Yorkshire Forward, Objective 1 and SRB6, and work begins on regenerating the building into a mixed use hub for Barnsley’s cultural and creative industries.
2007 Barnsley Connects move into their new Eldon Street offices, the first stage to be completed on the new Barnsley Civic.
2008 Fergus Justice-Mills, former Chief Executive of the Interchange Trust in London, is appointed the Director of the newly created Barnsley Civic Enterprise Trust, the organisation charged with overseeing the management of the next phase of the building life.
2008 Memorial held in memory of the children lost in the 1908 matinee accident.