The Baths Hall is an entertainment venue in
Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe () is an industrial town in Lincolnshire, England, and the county's third most populous settlement after Lincoln, England, Lincoln and Grimsby, with a population of 81,286 in 2021. It is the administrative centre and largest settleme ...
,
North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Lincolnshire, England. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, it had a population of 167,446. T ...
, England. It hosts many types of entertainment, including live music, dance and comedy.
History
Situated at 59 Doncaster Road, the Scunthorpe building is a former public
bath house dating from 1931. It has served as an entertainment venue since the 1970s. It was renovated and reopened in 2005 but closed to undergo a major re-build.
Bands that have played the venue include
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...
,
Status Quo
is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...
,
Ocean Colour Scene
Ocean Colour Scene (often abbreviated to OCS) is an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1989. They have had five top 10 albums, including a number one in 1997. They have also achieved seventeen top 40 singles and six top 10 singles to d ...
,
The Damned,
The Bluetones
The Bluetones are an English indie rock band, formed in Hounslow, Greater London, in 1993. The band's members are Mark Morriss on vocals, Adam Devlin on guitar, Mark's brother Scott Morriss on bass guitar, and Eds Chesters on drums. A fift ...
and
The Levellers. The late
DJ John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...
regularly appeared at the hall.
The previous
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
Council closed the Baths, intending to demolish it and replace it with private housing.
In 2007 the Conservative Council was replaced by a
Labour Council, which honoured its
manifesto
A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...
commitment to save the Baths. It rebuilt the hall, retaining its 1931 frontage, and created a modern entertainment venue. The Hall is able to seat a maximum of 1,000 people, rising to 1,800 when floor standing is adopted.
The building's design, by North Lincolnshire Council's architects, incorporates
environmentally friendly
Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that c ...
technology, including a
rainwater harvesting
Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a Rainwater tank, tank, cistern, deep pit (well, shaft, or borehole), Aquifer s ...
system for use in the lavatories.
The Baths Hall re-opened on 11 November 2011 with comedian
Bill Bailey
Mark Robert Bailey (born 13 January 1965), known professionally as Bill Bailey, is an English musician, comedian, actor and television presenter. He is known for his role as Manny in the sitcom '' Black Books'' (2000–2004), and for his regula ...
and guests performing on the opening evening. Bailey commented that this was the first time that he had been the first act to perform at a new venue. He said about The Baths Hall: "It's got a brilliant atmosphere. I love the type of venues that have a large auditorium with access on either sides. You look out and you see this sweep of seats. It reminds me a lot of very traditional concert halls. It's new but it looks very traditional at the same time. I've never actually opened a venue before so this is a first for me".
When the building reopened, it was initially operated by
SMG Europe, which merged with
AEG Facilities to form ASM Global in October 2019. In March 2022, North Lincolnshire Council took over the operations of the venue. On 19 March 2021, The Baths Hall opened as a vaccination centre
for the
COVID-19 vaccination programme until it returned to an entertainment venue in August 2021.
Images
File:Front Entrance of The Baths Hall.jpg, Front entrance
File:View of Auditorium from front of Stage.jpg, Auditorium
File:View of Auditorium from Side Balcony.JPG, Auditorium
References
External links
Baths Hall Website
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures in Scunthorpe
Music venues in Lincolnshire