The Square & Compass - Worth Matravers

January 20, 2018 / Gary Smith

Square and Compass - Worth Matravers.jpg

Address: Worth Matravers, Swanage, Dorset,
BH19 3LF
Type: Acoustic
Owners:
Capacity: TBA
Nearest Station: TBA
Website: http://www.squareandcompasspub.co.uk
Contact: kevin@squareandcompasspub.co.uk

The lovely The Square and Compass began life as a pair of cottages commanding a little bluff known as Lychard (meaning Bank), which overlooked the village and a marvelous view of the Channel. It's one of Dorset hidden music gems and well worth checking out if you are in the area. If you visit please also check out the Fossil museum and sample their home made cider.

History

Around 1776, it became an alehouse, owned by Wareham brewer cum clay merchant, under the sign of The Sloop. There were connections with smuggling, including skirmishes with excisemen at St Aldhelms Head. A new tenant landlord, a stone mason called Charles Bower, seems to have changed the name around 1830. He ran the place for more than 40 years, to be followed by his widow, then a series of tenants until 1907, when the Newmans took over. In the interwar years the pub became a fashionable watering hole for a creative set, the artist, Augustus John, cartoonist Low, pianist Harriet Cohen, actors Leslie Banks and Gwen Francon-Davis amongst many signatories of the Visitors' Book. During the war the clientele changed to include physicists and astronomer Sir Bernard Lovell and Nobel laureates Sir Alan Hodgkin and Sir Martin Ryle, all developing radar nearby. The Square evaded the heavy hand of modernisation during the 1960s. Its oldest clients, some in their nineties, remember reaching up to the same serving hatch with change for ginger beer in sticky hands.

Worth Matravers is beautifully situated on the limestone uploads of Purbeck, at the head of a valley running down between lynchet-striated slopes to the popular bathing ledges of Winspit. Once thriving on the local stone, farming and fishing industries, it has retired into a weekend refuge. It boasts an attractive church, one of the oldest in Dorset, once mother-church for Swanage. An ancient track, Priests Way, connects it to the resort as do rare buses. Folk relaxing on the wall or grassy slope in front of the pub look out over the village and the coastal setting beyond.

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categories / Acoustic
tags / The Square & Compass, Worth Matravers, Dorset, LCM Music Venue

Cadogan Hall, Sloane Square (London)

January 20, 2018 / Gary Smith

Address: 5 Sloane Terrace, London SW1X 9DQ
Type: Theatre
Owners: Cadogan Estate
Capacity: 950
Nearest Station: Sloane Square
Website: http://www.cadoganhall.com/
Contact:

Set in a fantastic location in the heart of Chelsea, Cadogan Hall has become one of London’s leading venues. The Hall’s 950 seats, excellent acoustic and luxurious surroundings makes it the first choice for some of the UK’s top orchestras, including the Hall’s resident orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic, as well as a favourite London destination for international touring orchestras. Cadogan Hall is the chosen venue for the world-famous BBC Proms Chamber Music Series and also offers a vibrant selection of contemporary, jazz, folk and world music events as well as talks, debates and conferences.

First opened in 1907 as a New Christian Science Church designed by Robert Fellowes Chisholm, the hall hosted congregations of 1400 in its heyday. However, like most other churches there was a decline in attendances and in 1996 the congregation moved to a smaller church. The property was sold but fell into disuse for several years.

Cadogan Estate purchased the Hall in 2000 to safeguard its future. Through their connection with Opera Holland Park, Cadogan discovered that the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was looking for a permanent base in London. Cadogan Hall was an excellent opportunity for the orchestra to benefit from Cadogan’s aim to bring the former church back into useful life in a manner befitting its character and civic presence. The Hall reopened as a concert hall in June 2004.

On one level the conversion of this large relatively modern listed building into a performance space seems straightforward. After all, there was a ready-made auditorium with a raked floor, a stage, a proscenium and a gallery. Unfortunately modern expectations of comfort and facilities, let alone the requirements of building and licensing regulations, meant extensive and fundamental changes had to be made.

The acoustic of the building was a big issue, both in terms of environmental acoustic – the control of sound break-out from the building – and performance acoustic within the auditorium. The ceiling and the roof had to be re-detailed to provide acoustic insulation. Tuned resonator tubes were installed on the main ceiling and the walls under the gallery and the undersides of the tip-up seats in the stalls also have a pattern of absorption holes to retain the Hall’s acoustic character.

The new performance lighting and sound systems in the auditorium include the computer controlled theatrical lights on the ceiling. These provide lighting for rehearsals but really come into their own when they are programmed to rotate, change light beam colours and patterns and provide other special effects for performances. A large screen for films and visual presentations can be lowered and allows performances elsewhere to be relayed live by satellite or the internet.

The organ installed in 1911 was carefully dismantled and put into store to await re-installation in its new home in a church in the Midlands. The organ casing, an integral part of the character of the auditorium along with timber panelling and balustrading from the platform, was also put into store. When the organ screen was re-assembled and nearly a century of dirt was removed it was found that each of the column capitals and each of the carvings around the arching balustrade are unique – a surprise discovery that added to the richness of the building.

Despite the scale of the auditorium the combined effects of the stage, the steeply raked stalls and the low gallery create a surprisingly intimate venue where the audience experiences a very real feeling of being part of the performance.

The stained glass was designed by a Danish nobleman. Baron Arild Rosenkrantz, had learnt the art of stained glass whilst working with Tiffany in New York. The designs for Cadogan Hall were said to exhibit “artistic simplicity of patterning and to provide efficiency of lighting and economy consistent with dignity”. There are no allegorical images and only one window has text. All the windows were removed and taken by a specialist to workshops for painstaking restoration. Although the Celtic knot motifs are simple and the use of colour restrained, the dramatic effect of the restored glass was another pleasant surprise during the refurbishment process.

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categories / Acoustic, Americana, Blues, Classical, Country, Folk, Jazz, Singer-Songwriter
tags / Cadogan Hall, Kensington & Chelsea, LCM Music Venue

Calstock Arts - Calstock

January 19, 2018 / Gary Smith

Address: The Old Chapel, Sand Lane, Calstock. Cornwall PL18 9QX
Type: Folk, Jazz, Classical, Acoustic
Owners: Calstock Arts Ltd
Capacity: 120
Nearest Station: Calstock Station
Website: calstockarts.org
Contact: mail@calstockarts.org

Calstock Arts is a community arts centre located in a beautifully converted Chapel on the banks of the River Tamar. The venue was established in 2010 and is a not-for-profit arts venue and it is largely staffed by a dedicated team of volunteers. Initially set up as a Community Interest Company they converted to Charity status in 2015. They programme a wide range of events including folk, jazz, classical music, comedy, film, theatre, talks and exhibitions. The venue also has a fully licensed bar and pre-event food is now available for some events.

Calstock Arts was previously a Methodist chapel built in 1910 but completely refurbished by the previous owners, Peterloo Poets in the late 1990s, a time when grants were more easily available than nowadays! They are certainly grateful for this as it resulted in their iconic picture window that looks across the river Tamar to Devon and has visitors gasping in admiration. The venue has superb natural acoustics, which are greatly appreciated by both performers and audiences. The main auditorium seats 120.

Calstock Arts organises round 60 events around each year and these are split fairly equally between ticketed and free entry. Most of the free entry events are part of their Gallery Bar Special series and where they request is a donation which goes directly to the performers.

In addition to their ticketed events they also have Gallery Bar Specials, which feature live music and other events from well-known and emerging performers in the south west. The Old Chapel is an ideal venue for a variety of community events, exhibitions, conferences, weddings and private parties.

Calstock Arts - What's On

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categories / Acoustic, Folk, Singer-Songwriter
tags / Calstock Arts, Calstock, LCM Music Venue, Cornwall