Wilton’s: London’s Oldest Surviving Victorian Music Hall

Just a ten minute walk from the Tower of London in Whitechapel is an extraordinary building with a unique atmosphere.

Wilton’s Music Hall is one of the few surviving Victorian music halls in the country. Lots of websites seem to claim it is the oldest in the world, however Settle Victoria Music Hall in Yorkshire looks like it may take that crown.

Either way, it is one of the oldest, certainly the oldest in London and the walls echo with the sounds of the eccentric entertainers that have performed here over the decades. 

As well as putting on a year-round schedule of shows, they also run historical tours of the building, one of which I attended recently.

Wilton’s can be found here, more details about visiting at the bottom of the blog post.

Wilton’s Origins- John Wilton

Let’s go back to the beginning when Graces Alley, on which Wilton’s is located, was a row of terraced buildings. They were constructed originally in the 1690s and were restored, rebuilt and altered over the follows decades. On the corner, at number 1 was the Prince of Denmark pub, a well-known haunt of the sailors and merchants who frequented or lived the area. From 1839 a concert room was built behind the pub. 

In around 1850 the pub was purchased by a Mr John Wilton. Wilton was born in 1820 in Bath, the son of a butcher. 

In 1846 he married Ellen Hall and four years later they moved to London’s East End and purchased the Prince of Denmark pub.

Over the following years Wilton bought up the three adjoining buildings and built a grand music hall across the back gardens. It opened officially as Wilton’s Music Hall in 1859. 

A Night At Wilton’s

He furnished the building with mirrors, chandeliers, paintwork and the finest ventilation and lighting systems of the time.

He wanted to bring West End glamour to the East End at affordable prices. It could hold about 1500 people, most of whom were working class.

The couple lived on site and John provided food and drink, managed the premises and selected acts to perform. 

Each evening would likely have been a mixed bill of performers including dancers, circus acts and opera.

Stars of the hall included gymnasts Madame and Monsieur Senyah who performed on tightropes and trapezes and entertainer George Leybourne, better known as ‘Champagne Charlie’. Named for his love of a glass of champagne, he appeared regularly at Wilton’s from 1868-1880.

John And Ellen Move On

Wilton sold the hall in 1868, going on to own a restaurant on Coventry Street and managing the refreshment room at the Lyceum Theatre. 

In 1877 a terrible fire destroyed much of the hall, leaving just four walls and the barley-twist columns you can still see today supporting the balconies. 

The hall was rebuilt but only operated for another 3 years until 1881, possibly because it did not conform to new fire regulations. 

A Methodist Hall

In 1888 the hall was purchased by the East London Methodist Mission. Whitechapel was an area that had become associated with poverty and crime.

They delivered services here and even set up a soup kitchen during the dock strike of 1889 to feed families. 

During the 1936 Battle of Cable Street against Mosley’s fascists, it is thought the hall acted as a base for anti-fascist campaigners. The hall backs onto Cable Street. 

Post-war dereliction

The hall amazingly did not suffer huge amounts of damage in the Blitz. After the war however, the East End was devastated and the mission closed in 1956 with a much reduced congregation. For a time the hall had been used as a badminton court. 

It was subsequently used as a rag sorting warehouse and in the 1960s was scheduled for demolition by the London County Council. Wilton’s was thankfully saved by a campaign led by theatre historian John Earl and the heritage hero that is John Betjeman. 

The hall remained empty for many years until 1970 when Spike Milligan persuaded the BBC to film ‘The Handsomest Room in Town’: a recreation of the Victorian music hall era in the hall itself. 

Wilton’s was Grade II* listed in 1971 and a trust set up in 1972 to fund repairs to the building. Various repairs were made and from the 1990s it started to be used again, despite being in a state of semi-dereliction. 

Scenes from Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s ‘Relax’ and Annie Lennox’s ‘No More I love You’s’ were filmed at the hall. 

21st Century Wilton’s

From 2004 a full schedule of shows has been performed at Wilton’s.

In 2015 it underwent a major refurbishment with the help of a lottery heritage grant. It is now fully restored, but with as much of the historic fabric retained.

It therefore has a slightly ramshackle, crumbling vibe to it. Bricks are exposed, rendering is only half covering the walls, paint is patchy. It all adds to the incredible atmosphere of the place and I am so pleased this decision was taken. Atmosphere, I think, is important you can really see and feel the layers of history at Wilton’s.

Below are a few more photos of Wilton’s today.

I absolutely loved my visit to Wilton’s- I am now going to definitely book tickets for a show there. They seem to run tours about twice a month, it was £10 and lasted an hour. Tickets can be booked here.

You can find out more about what shows they have on here.

Thank you for reading! More London inspiration below…