Bournemouth Winter Gardens

Bournemouth Winter Gardens was once a theatre in Bournemouth, Dorset. Its first building, a glass-clad exhibition centre, opened in 1875 and held up to four thousand people. The site later became a concert hall in 1893, making Bournemouth the first municipal town to offer regular music performances. Famous conductors such as Edward Elgar and Gustav Holst led concerts there. The Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra played at the venue from 1895 until 1929. After a new brick building replaced the original in 1937, it continued as a concert hall with strong acoustics. The Winter Gardens hosted many pop and rock acts from the 1960s onwards. The Beatles performed there in November 1963, and their show was filmed and broadcast a week later. Other notable performers included the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Elton John, David Bowie and Queen. Rolf Harris and comedians Morecambe and Wise also appeared regularly. The venue occasionally showed films and wrestling matches. By the late 1990s, it had fallen into decline as larger venues attracted bigger audiences. The theatre closed in 2002 and was demolished in 2006. The site now serves as a car park while plans for a new entertainment centre develop. The council announced redevelopment plans in 2014, and remaining buildings were cleared in 2021. The location remains empty, waiting for its next purpose.