Fairfield Halls at 50

Croydon - The Fairfield Halls at Croydon were opened officially by the Queen Mother on November 2, 1962. This venue has become a major cultural centre on the fringes of London.

The Fairfield Halls is actually one building; it is often referred to as Fairfield Hall, but Fairfield Halls is usually spoken of as a singular entity. Just to clear that one up. This year, both Manfred Man and the Rolling Stones celebrated 50 years in music, so did the Fairfield Halls, last month. Like every major theatre and your local cake shop, Fairfield Halls has its own website, but it has also set up a special 50th anniversary website where you can read about its history, the bands and comedians who have performed there, the plays and exhibitions it has hosted, and much more. It's called Fairfield because it was built on the site of a field where a fair was held for centuries, not simply years, and everyone has appeared here from Maestro Segovia and Elton John to the late Mr Harrison with the still very much alive Mr McCartney and those two other guys. Coming up to date, pantomime season kicks off at Fairfield on Friday, December 7 with Jack & The Beanstalk in its Ashcroft Theatre; there is also plenty of classical music, and in February, the acclaimed musical Blood Brothers.