The Bristol Beacon will reopen on November 30 after extensive repair works with costs totalling more than £130million. This won’t be the first grand reopening for the Grade II listed building though.
Under its original name, Colston Hall, the venue underwent major repairs after two fires gutted the venue just before the 20th century, in 1898, and again in 1945. The first blaze broke out in the early hours of September 1 when a fire was discovered in Clark’s four story clothing factory in Colston Street. Press reports at the time claimed flames were already through the roof and spreading to the adjoining Colston Hall by the time fire crews arrived. The fire had only left the auditorium walls standing and had destroyed the Main Hall’s organ.
Then, on February 5, 1945 another fire destroys the main hall again though this time its origin was thought to have started from a discarded cigarette during a dance band show by Carroll Gibbons and his Savoy Hotel Orpheans. As this took place during the Second World War, and due to post-war shortages, it would be six years before the venue reopened.
Here are eight images showcasing the damage caused by both fires:
1. Surveying the damage, 1898
Work begins to clear out the damage caused by the fire.
2. The Main Hall, 1898
The Main Hall was gutted after the fire.
3. The Main Hall, 1942
The building’s Main Hall in 1942, three years before the fire.
4. 1945 fire
The scale of the damage can be seen in this image.