John Balmbra (born c. 1811) was the owner, proprietor, manager and licensee of

Balmbra's Music Hall Balmbra's Music Hall was an early Music Hall in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle, England, in the middle of the 19th century. History In about 1848 a first floor room of the Wheatsheaf Public House at 6 Cloth Market, Newcastle, wa ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, England, to which he gave his name. John Balmbra was born about 1811 in Alnwick,

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

. He became owner and licensee of the Wheatsheaf Public House at 6 Cloth Market, Newcastle, possibly from 1859 to 1864. In about 1848 a first floor room of the pub was opened and in later advertisements was called "The Royal Music Saloon" (this name appears in advertisements dated 1859). In about 1862 it appears that the room was rebuilt and the name changed to

. It was here that the song "

Blaydon Races "Blaydon Races" ( Roud #3511) is a Geordie folk song of 1862, with lyrics by George Ridley written in a style deriving from music hall. It celebrates the horse races held at Blaydon in North East England that year, although mostly composed ...

" was first performed by

George "Geordie" Ridley George "Geordie" Ridley (1835–1864) was a Tyneside concert hall songwriter and performer in the middle of the 19th century. His most famous song is "Blaydon Races". He was a contemporary of Edward Corvan. He has been described by a council so ...

in 1862, The song referring to the Music Hall by name, as the starting point of the trip – ''"I took the bus from Balmbra’s and she was heavy-laden, Away we went along Collingwood Street, that’s on the road to Blaydon."''

References

* (Booklet) The Hall That Outlived Them All by Cindy Lightburn. (Amazon) * (Booklet) BALMBRA'S: A Nostalgic Revisit by Cindy Lightburn. (Amazon)

External links

Balmbra's – The Theatres Trust

Allan’s Illustrated Edition of Tyneside songs and readings
* The Hall That Outlived Them All by Cindy Lightburn * BALMBRA'S: A Nostalgic Revisit by Cindy Lightburn Music hall people People from Newcastle upon Tyne (district) {{England-bio-stub