Types of Venue where UK Wrestling took place

The Queens Hall in Leeds was Swinegate Tram Depot until 1961.

Northallerton Jail (prison) I was on with Johnny Peters, Magnificent Maurice was top of the bill.

Also Lanchester Agricultural show in Country Durham.

And not forgetting my favourite venues The Spa, Scarborough.and Spa (now pavilion)at Whitby.

Hi Anglo, sorry to give you eye strain.

The first time follows Works Canteen and includes Merry Fiddlers.

The second entry is a straightforward- Public Houses ,Lumley Arms Maltby

I can't imagine what a banking hall is, Peter, but that's in now if you say so.

Bernard, you are doing my eyes in. I've been up and down the list six times and can't see the duplication: please tell me where it is exactly.

Glad you are all scouring this list to improve it. I suppose we need to deduce something - but what precisely?

Maybe:

• wrestling shows were offered at all price ranges.

• the appeal of wrestling was so great that there were insufficient mainstream venues and creative thinking was required to extend the range.

• promoters tried specialist venues to attract spectators who might otherwise never have chosen to go wrestling: shop workers, miners, hunting folk, etc.

Slam Masters Wrestling use a Banking Hall at Portland House in Cardiff

This very morning a new one. ITV Breakfast shows a story and footage of a lady reverend who has a wrestling ring inside her church: all stained glass and suplexes! She appears to be the ref or emcee.

Quite incredible, in my opinion.

Coincidentally this news item brings in yesterday's discussion about the ethics of the deceit of professional wrestling in a religious context.

United Wrestling promote at a Tap Room in Oxford

re schools item: I promoted the shows at the two schools mentioned where I was a PE teacher and during my time as a wrestler. Good old days. Eddie Rose aka Le Diable Rouge.😊

Open air at Cawood North Yorkshire, and Knottingley carnival also outdoor, this was always held in July. Knottingley Sports Centre ocassionally held wrestling. Then Pontefract Town Hall was the main venue for wrestling.

Town shows......Northampton Show always had wrestling

Wrestling at the Lumley Arms in Maltby (near Rotherham):

There was a wrestling show in the Metrocentre shopping centre in Gateshead about 20 years ago, it drew a fair sized crowd

I suppose Stringfellows would fall under “night club”? Myself and Mrs. Mad Mac attended a small show locally a few years ago which was held in a unit of a local shopping mall where the promotion was based!

I know this thread is supposed to be restricted to the UK but during a recent visit to Philadelphia I attended Indy Pro Wrestling Events at two rather unusual venues.

One was at a still active Episcopalian{Church of England}Church. All the seating is cleared and it is used for a variety of popular cultural events using the dual purpose title of Trinity Centre for Urban Life.

The other venue is a Fire House{Station}.The bar attached to the station is also used for a variety of events and is festooned with posters from Opera Philadelphia's visits to Italy including the small community of Pieve near Venice .At this event the wrestlers fought without a ring!

1969:

I just remembered this one, which we discussed some time ago, a hospital

A couple of non-public shows: Colin Joynson and Tony St Clair did a match at a home for people with learning disabilities. Monty Swann did a match with a Greek waiter on mats in a small function hall in a hotel in front of the other staff. He'd been bigging up his supposed wrestling expertise to his colleagues and wanted to show off by doing a match so hired Swann plus John Kenny as ref. It soon became clear he was not the seasoned pro he'd implied.

A Residents Club. Not sure what that meant other than a hall where residents met.

Drill Hall Northampton

Updated today with Peter's contribution.

How about a grand country house?

Burton Constable Hall near Hull.

No I don't think there should be a minimum number.

I have today updated the list as seems fair.

Hack, for your information, The Pilot Field in Hastings is, according to wikipedia, a football stadium. It has hosted FA Cup matches. Therefore it is indeed "proper". I see you were deceived by modest southern understatedness in its name.

Powerlock: you mention custom-built stadiums and some are now included. But custom-built for what? Wrestling only?

Some of the suggestions are becoming a bit weird, but it is indeed fun to read them all.

Does anyone think that for entry on the list there should be at least three examples?

In 1966 The Printer's Gala included a wrestling show at Roundhay Park in Leeds. It was in the grandstand area overlooked by Hill 60.

I had a look at Wiki and it said

Thomas Nicholson had planned to make a third lake in a hollow which is now the Arena, but he died before doing so. In 1894, it was converted into a sports arena with cycle track, providing work for unemployed people in Leeds.It is overlooked by a mound known as Hill 60, which was so named to commemorate Leeds soldiers who died in First World War battles around Hill 60 near Ypres.The arena can hold over 100,000 people. This was the location of large concerts by The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Simple Minds, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Madonna, Level 42, Genesis, Robbie Williams, U2 & Cast, among others. In the summer, it is used as a cricket pitch.

Eddie Rose has sent us this photo of a well attended outdoor show in Sandbach, 1969. Buddy Ward instructs partner Eddie as he punishes Alec Burton.

"starring" ... that's a whole new way of publicizing the spectacle. It reminds me of that Logan & McManus 1965 tag match on Youtube with Nicholas Parsons where there is no pretence at all that wrestling is legit.

West End crowds we perhaps above this? This was EVERY Friday. Why have I missed this all along?

Great share, thanks, but I do feel it sits in the opening category on the list.

I saw one a couple of days ago, from 1976 that was held at "Staff Restaurant, Sainsbury's Depot" London Road, Buntingford.

Proper football stadiums (as opposed to football fields mentioned) e.g. Tottenham Hotspur ground.

Roller skating rinks, e.g. Embassy Sportsdrome in Sparkbrook, Birmingham

There have been a couple of mentions of fairgrounds but there were two kinds of show here. The booth with a barker out front jeeing the punters to come inside the tent with the promise of seeing one of the wrestlers take on a challenger from the crowd. (Usually a plant). But there was also the normal kind of show but put on in a ring in the open and free to watch. I remember seeing one of these at a fairground in, of all places, Eton playing fields.

You can now add Assembly Rooms.Tamworth,Derby and Tunbridge Wells

slag heap crowds of over 800,highest biggest tip in Europe,cutacre Clough little hulton tyldesley Bolton borders blits in the late 1920s to 30s and bookmakers

I recall seeing photos of bandstands but can't remember where they were. Can anyone be more specific?

Thanks Ian,

Circus Tent is already on line 6 on The List.

Aaah, yes, Bernard, that prison mention slipped me by, probably because I am looking for a specific venue name. I do think we discussed it at length years ago; or I may be confusing it with a Hancock's Half Hour I listened to.

Yes Anglo, Les Prest wrote about wrestling in a prison. Hack mentioned it in his post of 24th September.

For clarity, I have updated the opening post, at the top.

Nobody has mentioned boats of any kind. I bet some cruise ships had shows, which were probably not publicised in view of the captive audience.

Talking of which, I vaguely recall about 15 years ago we discussed wrestling in a prison?

On a village playing field, adjacent to Kirkland Village Hall, Garstang, Lancashire. The bills have already been posted on the site.

In a farmyard at Cockerham nr Lancaster - a charity fund raising event in 1964. Gerry Hoggarth in charge, I believe. ( I’m still trying to locate details)

Gerry also organised an event in a farmer’s field at Out Rawcliffe, Lancs. (At the time Cumberland and Westmorland style wrestling was very popular in the area)

Anglo Italian5d Well done, Hack. You're keeping up much better this week

Thank you Anglo Italian. Your acknowledgment means so much to me.

How about circus ring? As in Blackpool Tower (not a tent but a circus ring).

Or if you're not happy with that, how about

a tower, e.g. Blackpool Tower or New Brighton Tower.

British Legions e.g. Runcorn.Civic halls e.g Ellesmere Port.

The school hall of Laurence Sheriff Gramar School in Rugby had regular Professional Wrestling for several years

Laurence Sheriff is a non fee paying branch of Rugby Public School were Ruby Football originated

Another one we've missed - swimming baths, e.g. Saul Street Baths (Queens Hall) in Preston.

Lot's of Hippodromes. Not sure if a Hippodrome is a class in itself?

Town Halls seem an obvious one we have omitted.

And quite simply: Theatres.

The present day Purpose Wrestling promotion has regular events in a public library in Wimbeldon.The next is next week

Coal Miners Fair out in the open. Not sure anymore where it was, maybe Settle in Yorkshire.

Don't remember this, but Ray Plunkett showed me where they used to have bouts in Norwich. Downstairs in a building where it became Jarrolds of Norwich.

Then Norwich Cattle market.

Just remembered , Durham ice rink.

On a green at the back of a pub.

Merry Fiddlers Dagenham.

I remember wrestling televised from The Festival Inn, Trowell, Notts. This must have been quite a pub!

Well for sure when old cinema's were shut down they had a habit of converting them to stadiums , probably the most famous was the Wryton which had been the Palladium.

It does interest me , your question Anglo , so much so that I did a thread on Works Canteens.

Some Markets also did it like Lincoln , Carlisle.

Prisons. Some on the bill didn't have far to travel.

Town and Village Fairs.

Ice rinks

Didn't Jackie Pallo promote quite a few shows from Circus tents?, I also seem to remember the Rocco matches that were shown on "Screensport", in the 80's, were from Circus tents as well, at least some of them.