Trentham Gardens Ballroom

Move your pointing device over the image to zoom to detail. If using a mouse click on the image to toggle zoom.
When in zoom mode use + or - keys to adjust level of image zoom.

Date:1941

Description:During the Second World War (1939 to 1945) the Central Bank was moved from London to Trentham Gardens as a precaution against bombing.

The staff, mainly female, worked long hours here in very difficult conditions.

The heating rarely worked, and many people worked with their overcoats on in winter.

The Post Office also sorted mail in the foyer at the entrance to the ballroom.

Remembering Trentham Ballroom

In more peaceful times, the atmosphere at Trentham Ballroom could not have been more different. Here, Bernard remembers the dances:

"Trentham Gardens ballroom was another popular venue, which many thought to be upmarket.

"Trentham, as well as the King's Hall regularly took the opportunity to invite the well known big bands, mainly from the London area.

"Typical of these bands were the Ted Heath Orchestra, Joe Loss and his Orchestra and even Oscar Rabin.

"The entrance fee reflected the quality of the band and was roughly double that charged for one of our local orchestras.

"They had to apply for a licence to extend opening hours until 12pm.

"The final song was almost always 'Who's taking you Home Tonight.'

"The band would play God Save the Queen and that was the end of the night - and off you would go with the lady.

"These big bands really were an occasion. If you had no ticket by August you would not get into the New Year's Eve dance. They needed about two years notice to book a popular big band.

"When the fifties came the youngsters latched onto the new music quickly. Chubby Checker's 'Let's Twist Again' started it I think."

About this photograph

This photograph is now among the collections at Stoke-on-Trent Museums.

View Location

Share:

Link to this resource

Donor ref:(5/7043)

Source: The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery

Copyright information: Copyrights to all resources are retained by the individual rights holders. They have kindly made their collections available for non-commercial private study & educational use. Re-distribution of resources in any form is only permitted subject to strict adherence to the usage guidelines.