Barnsley Civic Hall and Barnsley Beer Festival. 1979-1995.

I recently had a tour around the newly opened Civic Hall linked to a visit to Barnsley Archives and Local Studies, based in the Town Hall. Where I looked at the back copies of the Barnsley Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) magazine. I was interested in the Beer Festivals held in the Civic Hall during the 1980s. I also read scrapbooks containing press cuttings about the events held at the Civic including the beer festivals. I was interested in the changes in the Civic and in particular the new floor levels. Barnsley Archives hold a wealth of plans and information about the building. Some of you may have happy memories of the library, pantos and various bands held at the Civic. I was Beer Festival Treasurer, one year, and stored the cash in the backstage dressing room that had been used by Billy Connolly and other stars. It was grim. The toilets were even worse. This area has now gone. This was pre contactless payments so beer tickets, entrance money and glasses were bought with cash. I can remember walking to the night safe to get rid of all these heavy coins. I was accompanied by a big lad and we pretended to be a couple, taking our time strolling hand in hand towards the bank. One year I ran out of change on Friday night, only to discover that banks held very little cash overnight. But the Post Office had a stash of cash and saved the day. My memories of the building are of the lift that was used to take beer barrels up to the theatre area from the ground floor. (A modern lift has been installed.) It kept breaking down and the ground floor entrance was full of barrels waiting to be moved. This could not be a last minute job because the beer needed time to settle before the festival opened. In 1983, it was the hottest Easter for 40 years and the beer nearly sold out. Wet sacking was used to keep the barrels cool. In June 1987 a General Election was called for the 11th which coincided with the beer festival which was moved to the 19 & 20th June. A problem for those who had already booked holiday. I can remember having a security role and many of the security team were women. We were good at getting rid of the idiots without a confrontation. I can remember a Police Inspector telling me that he liked the Beer Festival because all the drinking was in one place and there were no problems. On one occasion, as bar staff, I refused to serve a rude man and my female friend came to support me. Then Colin Wilson came to support us both. He explained that I was his partner and the other woman was my best friend. The idiot shook Colin’s hand, commiserated and left. In 1994 the beer ran out during Saturday lunchtime and no more could be sourced so the Saturday night session was cancelled leaving a surplus of 700 commemorative glasses. Another year, the entertainer was “Elvis” and cider enthused women were trying to climb on the stage to grope him. Several women helpers and I tried to stop them. It wasn’t elegant, I have a vision of big bottoms, big thighs and scant knickers. Not the vision of the founders in 1878. There was another the memorable year when we were entertained by a local brass band that included under 18s. They were hell bent on getting to the bar. More fun and games. These were enjoyable times, well managed with no drunks and no aggression. We had good festivals with good organisers, you know who you are. One of the early sessions was solely for Barnsley licensees and an opportunity to discuss real ale and CAMRA. Snacks were served and I remember a very good food pairing that Colin produced. It was blue cheese served with Taylor’s Landlord beer and of course there was Albert Hirst’s pork pies and black pudding. I think that cheese goes very well with beer and is often works better than wine. After 17 years the Barnsley Beer Festival moved to St Michael’ s Church Hall, Wombwell. This was 1996 and the 18th festival. The last Civic Hall festival in 1995 sold 9,648 pints according to Barnsley Chronicle on 26th May. The move was brought about by increased venue costs and the lack of another suitable venue in the town centre. The Beer Festivals were held in the old auditorium which was a standard theatre with a high ceiling and a Circle. The festival bars were under the Circle to protect the beer from the heat of the sun shining in from the high windows. The heavy curtains were also closed. The new auditorium is at a much higher level as can be seen by the window arches. The new seating retracts to enable flexible usage from drama to exhibitions. The bar is also at this higher level and has the high window arches. These windows were originally on the outside of the building, the new bar is part of a 2nd floor modern extension adjacent to Mandela Gardens. The space between the old theatre floor and new theatre floor is a storage area. I enjoyed reading the old copies of the CAMRA magazine. The old press cuttings in the Civic scrap book brought the place to life. But I look forward to the new Civic being a lively and successful addition to the regenerated town centre, the entrance now being back on Eldon Street. In addition to the theatre space there are a range of different spaces and a new initiative to support grass roots creative activity at the Civic. (Creative People and Places with funding starting in 2026.) This project is in the consultation and planning phase at the moment.

My photos were taken in the Civic or from documents held by Barnsley Archives and Local Studies Archive reference A/2263/C/1/6/3-9 for the illustrations and A/1988/C/2/8 for the scrap books

1. 1923 First Floor Plan 2. 1923 Longitudinal Section. Showing the upper level, arched windows 3. Old photo showing the old theatre auditorium 4. Bar on the 2nd floor with the arched windows 5. Modern retractable seating 6. A model of the Civic from Mandela Gardens showing the new extension including the bar. 7. Storage space between the old and new floors

Acknowledgements and appreciation Gemma Geldart and the Civic team The team at Barnsley Archives and Local Studies

Hannah Lucas Nov24.

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