Funky Venues

Venue Review

Character: Grand but faded Victorian music hall with offbeat charm.

Funky Features: Breathtaking and dramatic auditorium; famed as the oldest surviving music hall in the world.

Location and History

This Grade-II* listed venue may be the last of the hidden secret architectural treasures in the capital.  Built by John Wilton in 1858, the front of the building was the elegant Prince of Denmark pub, then famous as the most glamorous bar in the East End due to the mahogany fixtures in the public house.  Wilton built his stunning theatre in the garden.

In its heyday, 1500 people would cram into the auditorium to hear the top acts. The music hall closed in 1884 and was taken over by the Methodist Church in 1885 and becoming known as the Old Mahogany Mission. In 1936, the theatre was HQ to the anti-Mosleyites in the Battle of Cable Street. In 1964 Sir John Betjeman started a campaign to save the theatre from demolition and Wiltons received grade II* status. It reopened as a theatre and performance centre in 2004

Interior

Much of the Wilton’s Music Hall’s beauty and glamour live on, albeit in a shabby-chic state, the place having served as a refuge, rag warehouse and playhouse over the years. Graces Alley, an unassuming back street leads to a front door that reveals layers of paint and an open hallway beyond it paved in slate flagstones. Step inside and you find yourself in a charmingly dilapidated space its brickwork exposed, its plasterwork ancient.  A plaque dedicated to Wiltons by his wife hangs on the wall in the hallway.

Spaces for Hire

From the hallway, you can access the bar on one side (complete with kitchen facility for catering purposes, seating 60) which features reclaimed furniture in tune with the period character of the building. The second room off the hallway is of similar size and dimensions and can act as a cloakroom or small dinner venue, and features signature brickwork and wooden flooring dating from the 1930s.

The jewel in the crown is the breathtaking auditorium: This remains incredibly intact - the original cast iron ‘barley sugar’ pillars (purloined apparently from a cruise ship) support a papier-mâché balcony and decorative arches. These sit beneath in a vaulted roof, complete with its original stucco roses. The paintwork is more recent though executed in keeping with the rest of the hall. Altogether Wilton’s is dramatic and unforgettable, perfect for weddings, conferences, book launches and readings, corporate team building and evening events (150 seated, 180 standing for acoustic reasons). 

The venue can provide a recommended list of suppliers and performers from cabaret, DJ’s and jazz trios.