Victorian Music Room, England

This Victorian Music Room closed around 20 years ago. There are three main areas; an octagonal entrance rotunda, a timber trussed auditorium and a large conservatory area. I explored this interesting place early in 2022, visiting twice to experiment with different lighting in different areas of the site.

History of the Victorian Music Room

Parts of the site date back to the middle 19th century; these parts are relics of a former hall (now demolished). New buildings were added in the 1900s and again in the 1950s, branching from this nucleus.

Entering the Victorian Music Room via the columned- flanked arched entrance porch, takes you to the most interesting area; the entrance block rotunda. This cheerful yellow-painted octagonal room rises to a beautiful domed ceiling. From the central ceiling rose, eight ribs radiate out dividing the roof into segments. Each segment has three square windows, with stained glass (although, the segment above the entrance is smashed and boarded which slightly upsets the pattern). This rotunda area is the oldest part,which was likely a music room from the old grand hall that used to stand on this site.

The next area is a dark, but interesting room that features ornate timber roof trusses. The roof also seemingly had skylights, but all the glass has long gone and only the empty frames remain. It appears that recent preservation works involved placing a protective metal roof above this area. The exact function of this room is uncertain, but it may have been some kind of auditorium (which seems nicely aligned to the Victorian Music Room theme).

Finally, leading off from this area is the large conservatory area which is a much more recent addition to the site. After years of abandonment, and most of the glass falling out, vegetation now runs unchecked in this area

A change of aesthetic in more recent months

What a difference a few months make. It seems a long time ago I explored this place, as I looked back over the photos and started my editing session. In reality, it wasn’t. Only a couple of months.

In those months, this beautiful space has dramatically changed . The circular music room is now stuffed full of graffiti on every wall. Not just small tags either (there were some smaller tags when I visited, faded and old). Now the story of this elegant Victorian Music Room has shifted trajectory; metamorphosed by multi-coloured graffiti into a urban street art scene.