In the mid-20th century, wrestling matches were in strong demand, while in the late 1960s it developed into one of the most important rock music venues in Britain.

In the Tudor period, it was replaced by a mansion called The Great House, built in 1568 by Sir John Young,[1][2] a member of a merchant family and courtier to Henry VIII.

[6] The sugar refinery included thirteen cottages for workers in its grounds which extended towards the current site of the Red Lodge Museum.

The company had grown out of an effort by the Bristol Temperance Progressionist Society to build a hall near St. James' Priory and was supported by wealthy Liberals, who saw the Victoria Rooms in Clifton as too closely tied to the Tory interest.

[15] On 1 September 1898, a fire broke out in the neighbouring Clark's clothing factory, which quickly spread to the hall while it was in use for the Trades Union Congress.

[17] Acts from the United States began to appear at the hall, having been restricted by the Musicians' Union for the previous 20 years.

[25] In 1990, the hall briefly closed as part of a £500,000 modernisation programme to rewire the building and improve the technical facilities, as well as redecorate the backstage area.

[17] From 2007 to 2009, the Colston Hall underwent extensive refurbishment with the construction of a new foyer alongside the present building by Willmott Dixon, topped by a wind turbine.

[36] Renamed to the Bristol Beacon, it reopened on 30 November 2023, with a capacity of 1,800 (2,100 standing) in the main hall and two additional auditoria in the cellars and a former recital room.

[38][40] In April 2017, the charity that runs the hall stated that it was going to change the name of the venue after completion of refurbishment works.

[41] On 15 June 2020 the lettering "Colston Hall" was removed from the exterior, and the charity announced that a new name would be disclosed later in that year.

[43] Details of early performances at the hall are limited due to the subsequent fires, but the archive of the Royal College of Music holds programmes from 1896 onwards which reference a triennial musical festival that was founded in 1873, as well as performances by the (long defunct) Bristol Symphony Orchestra.

[44] The British Library holds details of the 1912 festival at the hall which, among other concerts, included a performance of Wagner's Ring Cycle over four days.

The Beatles first performed at Colston Hall on 15 March 1963 as part of a package tour with Chris Montez and Tommy Roe.

The group returned there to play the last gig of a British tour on 10 November 1964, where four fans managed to sneak backstage and tip flour over their heads.

[56]David Bowie, Elton John, Queen, Thin Lizzy, Roxy Music, Iron Maiden, Bob Marley and Lou Reed all performed there.

[58] The Who first played Colston Hall on 10 November 1968, part-way through recording Tommy, with support from Free, and returned on 7 March 1970.

[60] Pink Floyd gave one of the first live performances of The Dark Side of the Moon at Colston Hall on 5 February 1972, over a year before the album was released.

In addition to rock and pop artists, the hall regularly hosts comedians (including multiple-date sell-out runs by Billy Connolly and Bristol-born Stephen Merchant).

Citations Sources Various collections of records of Colston Hall are held at Bristol Archives, including (Ref.