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As far as I can work out, nobody has yet done a dedicated piece of in-depth research about Bury's theatres and music-halls, let alone its moving picture houses. So here's another topic of real history sleuthing that YOU can get your teeth into!
Lots of sources mention that Bury had a theatre in the 1700s - we know this largely because it collapsed at one point. My guess is that this building stood somewhere in the area of what became the Derby Hotel, Town hall and Athenaeum. A huge swathe of Bury's town centre was cleared by Lord Derby for this grand project. So far I haven't located any maps that show the area pre-clearance. If they are to be found, I think it will be in the Stanley estate papers that reside in the Lancashire Archives in Preston.

The Athenaeum dominates all discussions of 'highbrow' entertainment. For me it also encapsulates what happened in towns across the north in the 1960s and 1970s. This grand 1850s theatre / library / lecture hall was hastily pulled down in 1971 by Bury Council, its owners, ahead of a suspicion that it would achieve listed building protection. Legislation to protect the built heritage caught on slowly in England as a whole but even slower in the industrial north. It's upsetting to see how much was lost in the race to modernise, and how little public consultation was involved.

The area of Bury around the triangular 'new' market (opened 1838, now Kay Gardens) became effectively Bury's very own theatreland.
Picture
This rough map doesn't include singing pubs, and it's also clear that then as now this was a rapidly changing scene. So what I'm saying is, this isn't 'the definitive map' - what I'd recommend for the interested local historian is, get onto the local directories and have a go at mapping your own sites for concert halls, theatres etc.
For example: this map doesn't show the numerous halls rented or owned by Bury Cooperative Society. They provided a substantial programme of entertainment, both 'light' and 'improving'. It would be interesting to see how many local folk have an ancestor who met their beloved at a Co-op Dance. Doubtless the Co-op Archives in Manchester will contain as yet unseen riches about this aspect of Bury's past.

As well as the real directories in the local studies library, you can use some online from this link:
 http://www.bury.gov.uk/undex.aspx?articleid=10880

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  • Home
  • About
  • Writing
    • Threads
    • Owd Moleskin
    • 26 october 1962
    • Miss Carney innovates
    • visiting time
    • Sea-glass
    • Sunlight
    • Tommy Kenny
    • When my feet are comfortable
    • Auntie Sadie's Cocktail Cabinet
    • The Fire in the Hearth
    • Margaret Thatcher April 2013
  • crossing continents
    • Mesopotamia before 1200 BCE
    • Euphrates-Indus trade routes
    • Indus Valley
    • Indus part 2
    • China to 1000 BCE
    • All change 1200 BCE
    • Greek influence
    • Roman-Han trade
    • Islam, Mongols&Sea trade
  • Crossing Continents 2
    • Europa and the bull
    • Climate change and DNA
    • DNA after the ice
    • dna limits & ethics
    • Malta in prehistory
  • Lessons from History
    • Mines and maps
    • Patience Kershaw
    • Bury 1849 in maps
    • Bury's 19th century Popualtion
    • Overcrowding in focus
    • Entertaining Bury >
      • Bury's Pub History
      • Theatres and music halls
      • Markets and fairs
      • Pleasure Gardens and Parks >
        • Bury Baths
      • Bury U3A
  • Random archaeology
  • Old WEA courses
    • Ancient Mediterranean >
      • The Palaeolithic Period
      • From Hunters to Farmers
      • The origins of farming
      • The spread of farming
      • The discovery of metal
      • Los Millares
      • The Minoans
      • Mycenae
      • The Phoenicians
      • Ancient Greece part 1
      • Ancient Greece Part 2
      • The Etruscans
    • Ancient Middle East >
      • Session 2
      • Session 3
      • Session 4
      • Session 5
      • Cylinder Seals
      • Göbekli Tepe
      • Reed Construction
    • Ice Age to Iron Age >
      • Session 1
      • Session 2
      • Session 3
      • Session 4
      • Session 5
      • Session 6
      • Session 7
      • Session 8
      • Session 9
      • Session 10
    • The Legacy of the Holy Land >
      • Session 1: Introduction to the Levant
      • Session 2: Origins:the first human settlement
      • Session 3: About the Exodus
      • Session 4: the Land of Milk and Honey
      • Session 5: Israel and the people of Canaan
      • Session 6: the influence of Greece
      • Session 7: Romans, Jews and Christians
      • Session 8: Emperor Gods and early Christians
      • Session 9: How Christianity became powerful
      • Session 10: The Crusades
  • Contact
  • Armchair Archaeology
    • Place names >
      • Place name activities
    • Maps online
    • screen shot
    • Spotting sites
    • Lidar
    • Useful websites
    • Friday stuff