IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 2881
Held at: Royal Festival Hall
Title: Royal Festival Hall
Date(s): 1949-present
Level of description: Collection (fonds)
Extent: 225 linear metres
Name of creator(s): Royal Festival Hall | 1951
London County Council / Greater London Council
South Bank Music Centre
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
The Royal Festival Hall (RFH) opened on 3 May 1951, providing London a replacement major concert hall to the Queens Hall destroyed in 1941. It was built by the London County Council (LCC) as a contribution to the Festival of Britain, May-September 1951, and was the only structure planned to remain permanently on the site.
Responsibility for the RFH design was given to a team at the LCC architectural department. Robert H Matthew, Architect to the Council and J L Martin, Deputy Architect, were primarily responsible for the planning and design of the building. Edwin Williams, Senior Architect, was in charge of general organisation and progress and Peter Moro, was Associated Architect. In April 1988 the RFH became the first post-war public building awarded Grade I listing.
The Hall initially included a large rectangular concert auditorium, which seats 2900 patrons, and a smaller recital hall. The building has been subject to ongoing development. In 1954, the organ was completed in main auditorium, and between 1962 and 1968 further building was undertaken on the site. The RFH reopened in 1965, after eight months closure, with exterior walls slightly extended and refaced. In March 1967 two additional concert spaces next to the RFH were opened: the Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) seating over 900 and the Purcell Room(PR) seating more than 370. The adjacent Hayward Gallery opened in July 1968.
In 1983 the Greater London Council (GLC), successor administrative body to the LCC, extended opening of the foyers of the RFH to the public all day, seven days a week with free events and exhibitions being offered. In April 1986, the South Bank Board, a constituent part of the Arts Council of Great Britain, took over administration of the South Bank Centre (SBC) concert halls following abolition of the GLC.
In 1988 the Arts Council's Poetry Library, a collection of modern British poetry established in 1953, took up residency on level five of the RFH. It has an associated performance space, the Voice Box, which seats over 75.
From its beginning the SBC concert halls have included a varied programme of musical and artistic events including orchestral, jazz and contemporary music, ballet, opera, lectures, recitals, readings and visual exhibitions.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Records of the Royal Festival Hall (RFH) comprising:
administrative records including:
Opening Ceremony book of Distinguished Visitors, 3 May 1951, containing signatures of guests; Visitors books (signed by performers), 1956-1966; Press releases, 1969-1991 (1 box); Annual Reports, 1992-1998 (1 box);
RFH events diaries, 1951-1993, 1998-1999; Planning diary of events held outside the Hall and in the foyer, 1985; records of attendance and ticket sales, 1957-1970s;
various Arts Board Recreation and Arts Committee files, 1976-1982; Visual Arts Committee files, 1978-1982; various London County Council Committee orders files relating to the RFH, 1949-1975; South Bank Board administrative files, 1985-[2000];
files mainly relating to agreements with artists, 1974-1976; administrative files 1970s-1980s; files relating to redevelopment; Customer Service refurbishment files, 1991-1997; files relating to restaurant project, refurbishment, catering, 1992-1995;
files and papers relating to non-musical events and conferences held at the hall; Archivist's subject files 1950s-1990s;
records relating to exhibitions including administrative files, papers and photographs, 1951-1994; printed catalogues of exhibitions; card catalogue of exhibitions, 1950s-1980s; photographs used in exhibitions, (undated).; photgraphs relating to exhibitions, 1981-1993; visual images and photographs mounted for used in exhibitions; posters used in exhibitions;
records of performances and events including Meltdown summer music festival publicity material, 1993-2000; Meltdown posters, [1999]; music projects subject files, 1970s-1980s; South Bank Summer Music (SBMS) administrative files, 1969-1984;
card index of performances at the RFH, QEH and Purcell Room, arranged by artist, instrument, conductor and composer, 1951-1985;
printed publicity material including Preview, South Bank Centre publication, 1991-1995; monthly diary of events at RFH, 1951-present; Scrapbooks containing printed programmes, 1951-1955 (1 vol), 1955-1964 (18 vols); copies of printed performance programmes 1951-2002; Exhibition programmes, 1976-1980s (5 boxes); publicity posters, 1986-1997 (50 boxes); publicity posters 1983-1988 (2 filing cabinet drawers); leaflets relating to concerts, crafts, dance/mime, exhibitions, films, foyer leaflets, literature and poetry, lunchtime concerts, opera, organ recitals, special/outdoor events, talks and master classes, conferences and lettings, 1960s-present; (40 boxes)
collection of published magazines containing articles or special issues relating to the Festival of Britain of the RFH, 1951-1995;
cuttings collection including newspaper cuttings, 1951-1964; Press Department cuttings, 1984-present; press advertisements relating to the RFH, 1982-1989 (1 vol); Education Department press cuttings, 1987-1993; cuttings and papers relating to site development, 1996; articles and speeches of Nicholas Snowman, 1992-1999; orchestral residency background, 1990-1995; redevelopment submission, 1991; seasons and launches, 1994-1996; cuttings re Festival ballet, dance, 1952, 1954 (2 files); cuttings of concert reviews, events etc (3 vols); press cuttings (in programme store), 1984-2002;
Scrap books of press cuttings arranged by subject including RFH organ, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, 1954; National Theatre and South Bank Opera House, 1958-1965; Philharmonia /New Philharmonia Orchestra, 1963-1966; Royal Festival Hall Competition, 1965; Queen Elizabeth Hall opening, and acoustics, 1967; South Bank Summer Music (SBSM), 1964-1968; Orchestral Resources Report, 1970; Night of Nights-Frank Sinatra, 1970; Kirov Ballet, 1979; Calas/Di Stefano, 1973; Andre Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra, 1975; RFH 25th anniversary, 1976; Horowitz concert, 1982; Metropolitan Mikado, 1985; and The Soul of the Terracotta Army, 1987; (16 vols)
photographic collection comprising:
files of photographs, arranged by subject including aerial views, auditoria, backstage, brewer and South Bank Lion, Embankment, Festival Pier and Jubilee Gardens, Festival of Britain, foundation stone and topping out, furniture and fittings, Hayward Gallery, interior and exterior, models and artists' impression, organs, Queen Elizabeth Hall under construction, exterior and interior, Royal Festival Hall construction, exterior and interior, RFH completion, site and views from the RFH, staff and miscellaneous images, 1920s-1970s;
Scrap books of photographs relating to RFH construction, exhibitions, foyer exhibitions and other events, receptions, RFH interior, exterior and models, Stage productions and films;
collection of black and white and colour photographs of artists, conductors, events and staff, (6 drawers);
collection of negatives, slides and transparencies (2 drawers);
collection of visual materials including:
portraits of Bela Bartok, Artur Schnabel and Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir Arthur Bliss, Walter Crane, Piero De Gamba, George Gissing, Gerald Moore, Paul Tortellier, by artists including Janos Halafy, Adrian Allinson, Wyndham Lewis, Sonia Miller, Bette Flashtig;
collection of drawings by Dr Willia Dreifuss including portraits of Sir Thomas Beecham, Clifford Curzon, Jascha Horenstien, Otto Klemperer, Rafael Kubelik, Artur Ribinstein, Adrex Segovia;
prints of Ludwig van Beethoven, Clara Haskil, Double Basses of the New Philharmonia Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini, by artists including Michael garady, Doroth Bradford, A Rienzi;
lithograph of Sir Henry Wood, view of Somerset House from Waterloo Bridge, view of Waterloo Bridge from the west;
27 prints of musicians and singers published in Vanity Fair, 1872-1908;
collection of films and videos of programmes and promotional material, relating to the Festival of Britain, RFH anniversaries, architecture and building development, the South Bank development, [1951], [1976] 1983 -2001;
sound recordings including:
commercial CD (100) and audio cassettes (50) recordings of concert performances held at the RFH;
oral history recordings (on audio cassette, DAT, and CD) of interviews with managers, London County Council members, architects, musicians, staff and patrons, including Felix Aprahamian, Hugh Bean, Lord Birkett, Tony Blackwell, Harry Blech, Jack Brymer, Shirly Cooper and Ted Higgins, Nicholas Danby, John Denison, Maura Dooley, Rober Glazebrook, Noel Goodwin, Ian Grant, Reg Fulker, Illtyd Harrington, Vitor Hochhauser, R G F Howden, Michael Kaye, Frank Kellond Jones, London Festival/English National Ballet, Ruth Mackenzie, George Mann, Sit Leslie Martin, Lord Menuhin, Peter Moro, Yvonne Pegler, Anthony Phillips, Richard Pulford, David Seigle-Morris, Dennis Spall, Anthony Steele, and Christine Wilde, 1990s' (1 drawer);
recordings of miscellaneous interviews and broadcast radio programmes relating to the RFH and the Festival of Britain, 1957, 1990-2000;
material relating to the Festival of Britain including:
newspapers, magazines, guides, extract articles, programmes and exhibition catalogues, relating to the festival, [1951-1993]; Festival plans and posters; Festival ephemera and objects including ash tray, curtain, head scarf, press pass, presentation soap [1951]; chairs and other furniture;
cassette and CD recordings containing extracts from BBC commentaries, relating to the opening of the RFH, various events, and interviews with Robert Matthew and William Allen; film titled 'The Happy Family' (a comedy about a family who refuse to move when their home is requisitioned to make way for the Festival Road); Video relating to the Festival; and Festival Times, publication of the Festival of Britain Society, 1989-2002 (1 box).
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English
System of arrangement:
Conditions governing access:
By appointment only. Contact the Archive Administrator, Royal Festival Hall, South Bank Centre, London SE1 8XX.
Some material may be subject to restriction under the regulations of the Data Protection Act 1998.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Photocopies available
Physical characteristics:
Finding aids:
Detailed hand list of oral history interviews and index of contents; handlist of signatures contained in the visitors books; unpublished Content List - includes videos, audio interviews, articles, ephemera,
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Accruals:
Archival history:
The Royal Festival Hall Archive was established in the Marketing Development section of the Commercial Department in 1993 and began to assemble surviving materials from internal and external sources including some artefacts, relating to the Royal Festival Hall.
Immediate source of acquisition:
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ALLIED MATERIALS
Related material:
Records of the London County Council are mainly held at the London Metropolitan Archive; records of the Festival of Britain Exhibition are mainly had at the Victoria and Albert Museum Archive of Art and Design; records of the Arts Council of Great Britain, 1939-1985 are held at the National Archives: Public Record Office, Kew.
Publication note:
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Archivist's note: Sources: Historical Manuscripts Commission's On-Line National Register of Archives; Music on the South Bank, and appreciation of the Royal Festival Hall, John Pudney, London County Council with Max Parrish, London 1951.
Compiled by Alison Field as part of the London Signpost Survey Project
Date(s) of descriptions: November 2003