Eastbourne Bandstand
Encyclopedia
Bandstand
A bandstand is a circular or semicircular structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts...
on the seafront of the East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
coastal town of Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
. The current bandstand was built in 1935, with its unique semi-circular design and blue domed roof; there is no other in the United Kingdom. It has a main arena, middle and upper balconies for seating and originally seated 3,500 but with current health and safety laws this has been reduced to 1,600.
The building of the bandstand formed part of the main seafront improvements, the bandstand itself cost £28,000 and was surmounted with a stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
spire. The project engineer was Leslie Rosevere. The first concerts were given on the 28 July 1935 with a total of 10,400 attending all three concerts and paying 3d
British One Penny coin (pre-decimal)
The English Penny, originally a coin of 1.3 to 1.5 g pure silver, includes the penny introduced around the year 785 by King Offa of Mercia. However, his coins were similar in size and weight to the continental deniers of the period, and to the Anglo-Saxon sceats which had gone before it, which were...
each. With an audience of 8,000, the bandstand was officially opened on the 5 August 1935 by the Lord Lieutenant of the county, Lord Leconfield.
For many years the bandstand played host to a full programme of military bands. On a daily basis the bands would play from Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
until the end of October. Over the years this was reduced, mainly because audience number was dropping and in 2001 action had to be taken as the costs of the military bands were far out weighing the audience reception. The local civilian bands were attracting similar audiences to those of military. It was therefore decided that the military band be cut further. If the bandstand were to survive as a musical entertainment venue, new audiences and entertainments had to be found. The introduction of big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
nights, rock 'n' roll, Last Night of the Proms and 1812 Firework Night was a significant component of the filling of the financial gap. In 2006, these actions saw the introduction of tribute concerts, which were hugely successful, resulting in the attraction of a significantly larger audience, reviving the bandstand.
The bandstand to this day plays an important part in the musical entertainment on the south coast offering around 150 concerts per year.
There is a commemorative plaque at the rear of the current bandstand in memory of Eastbourne bandsman John Wesley Woodward, who was one of those playing on the Titanic when it sank on 15 April 1912.
In recent years the bandstand has featured in numerous television programmes such as Foyle's War
Foyle's War
Foyle's War is a British detective drama television series set during World War II, created by screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz, and was commissioned by ITV after the long-running series Inspector Morse came to an end in 2000. It has aired on ITV since 2002...
, and is shown in the opening sequence of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
South East Today
South East Today
BBC South East Today is the BBC South East regional television news programme, serving Kent, East Sussex and the eastern fringes of Surrey. Prior to its launch on 3 September 2001, most of the viewers in the region received Newsroom South East, though some had been receiving South Today.South East...
.
Evening concerts are blocked from non paying visitors by means of large blue wooden screens.