The Postcard
A postally unused postcard that was published by Francis Frith & Co. Ltd. of Reigate. The image is a glossy real photograph.
Croydonisation
The photograph was taken in the mid-1960's, by which time the Croydonisation of Croydon was already well under way. It is now (2021) in high gear, with many more tall buildings currently being built in the town centre.
Croydonisation is a pejorative term meaning the throwing up of assorted high-rise buildings in an area with little if any regard for their aesthetics or their effect on their immediate environment.
Croydon has led the way in this respect.
Fairfield Halls
Fairfield Halls is an arts, entertainment and conference centre located in Croydon, London. It opened on the 2nd. November 1962 and contains a theatre and gallery.
The large concert hall has been regularly used for BBC television, radio and orchestral recordings.
Fairfield Halls closed for a £30 million redevelopment on the 15th. July 2016, and reopened in September 2019. As part of the building's re-opening, it was also announced that the Talawa Theatre Company would relocate to the building, taking up a 200-seat theatre space and offices.
Although Fairfield Halls has been a major venue for professional music, plays, musicals, stand-up comedy and classical music, a significant proportion of Fairfield's programme has been for community events. It was frequently used by local schools as the venue for their annual choral concerts, as well as being regularly used by local music, opera, amateur dramatic and religious organisations. The Concert Hall features a cinema with Croydon's largest cinema screen.
Since the 14th. January 2021, Fairfield Halls was used as a mass vaccination centre as part of the COVID-19 vaccination programme in the United Kingdom.
History of The Fairfield Halls
The halls were built on the site of Croydon's historic "Fair Field", which hosted a well-known fair up until around 1860, and above disused railway cuttings which used to link the main London to Brighton railway to Croydon Central Station in what is now Queen's Gardens. Between 1930 and 1962 the land was home to both a car park and air raid shelters during the war.
The venue was 50 years old in 2012, and an anniversary concert by the London Mozart Players was attended by the Earl of Wessex. A website was also launched to celebrate both the venue's history and to act as an ongoing archive, containing 2,000 digitised images accessed via text and keyword searches. This makes it one of the largest digitised venue archives in Europe.
In the summer of 2014, the council paid for the refurbishment of the Arnhem Gallery, the conversion of the former Green Room into the New Studio, and the installation of modern digital projection equipment with Dolby sound in the Concert Hall.
Fairfield was run from 1993 to 2016 by a self-financing charity with a board of trustees. The charity was in receipt of an operating grant from Croydon Council; however it was placed into administration in July 2016.
The 2016 Redevelopment
Croydon Council, the freeholder of the land, had various plans to refurbish Fairfield over the years, but none of them came to fruition. In the spring of 2015 a new set of consultants led by Croydon firm Mott MacDonald was appointed by Croydon Council to deliver a £12m programme on the Fairfield Halls and a separate programme for the remainder of the College Green site. Around £30m was to be spent on redeveloping and modernising Fairfield Halls in the period between 2016 and 2018.
The venue closed for two years for redevelopment starting in July 2016 as part of Croydon council's plan for the cultural and educational quarter in the town centre, with new homes, offices, shops and a building for Croydon College being constructed. Delays meant that the venue in fact didn't re-open until the 16th. September 2019.
Fairfield Halls as a Venue
The building's concert hall has 1,801 seats, the Ashcroft Theatre has 755, and the Arnhem Gallery is used for standing concerts for an audience of up to 400.
Many famous acts have performed at the Fairfield Halls, including David Bowie, Elton John, the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder, the Who, Queen, Sister Sledge, Morrissey, Status Quo, Chuck Berry, Kenny Rogers, Genesis, and Petula Clark of Westlife.
Delaney & Bonnie & Friends recorded their live album On Tour with Eric Clapton in the halls, with a band that also featured George Harrison. Rat Scabies and Captain Sensible of the Damned both worked as toilet cleaners at Fairfield Halls, Captain Sensible remarking that he was inspired to take music more seriously after witnessing a T. Rex concert there.
Morecambe and Wise's appearance at the halls in 1973 was filmed, the only time that their live stage act was recorded.
Fairfield Halls was also used for British professional wrestling for many years, with various bouts having been featured on ITV's World of Sport in the 1970's and 1980's.
Fairfield Halls in the Media
Fairfield Halls has featured as a location in many films, TV productions and commercials. It was featured in the opening titles of the BBC sitcom Terry and June.
Fairfield's concert hall appeared briefly in the film The Da Vinci Code as the location of Robert Langdon's speech to students. The venue also featured in the films Made in Dagenham and Cuban Fury.