Meet up with friends after work for mid-week late-night vintage shopping, live entertainment, cocktails and food at Wilton’s Music Hall in the heart of East London on Thursday 21st July.
 
For one night only, Pop Up Vintage Fairs London transform the historic Wilton’s Music Hall into a vintage bazaar. Your chance to see inside the world’s oldest surviving Grand Music Hall and London’s best kept secret.
 
The Wilton Music Hall venue began life as five houses, one to four Graces Alley and 19 Wellclose Square, originally built in the 1690s. The largest house at number one was an ale house dating from the first half of the 18th century, serving the Scandinavian sea captains and wealthy merchants who lived in neighbouring Wellclose Square. From c.1826, the ale house was also known as The Mahogany Bar, reputedly because the landlord was the first to install a mahogany bar and fittings in his pub. In 1839 a concert room was built behind the pub and the building's life as a venue began. John Wilton bought the business in c.1850, building his first music hall in place of the previous concert room in 1853. He then replaced it with his ‘Magnificent New Music Hall’ in 1859. He furnished the hall with mirrors, chandeliers and decorative paintwork and installed the finest heating, lighting and ventilation systems of the day.
 
The building was later to become a Methodist Mission Hall, rag sorting warehouse and then left empty eventually becoming derelict. However the building survived thanks to support from the The London Music Hall Trust. Although the building remained in a state of dereliction, artists began to make use of its undeniable atmosphere. The building was used for film and video shoots including Karel Reisz’s Isadora 1968, Richard Attenborough’s Chaplin 1992, Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Relax 1984 and Annie Lennox’s No More I Love You’s 1995. In 1997 audiences were once again invited to see a performance, this time The Waste Land, performed by Fiona Shaw and directed by Deborah Warner. The production received rave reviews with many critics commenting on how suited Wilton’s was to the desolate mood of Eliot’s poem. In the middle of winter, the hall was unheated; the flyer said ‘please dress warmly’ and one journalist added ‘wear hard hats’.
 
The final repairs have since been carried out supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The capital project has won a RIBA London Award 2016, RIBA London Conservation Award 2016 and RIBA London Building Of The Year 2016 and has been named 'Highly Commended' in the 2016 RICS Award, London, for Building Conservation. The restored Grade II* listed building is now home to over 300 performances and over 80 productions each year.
 
Pop Up Vintage Fairs London was launched in March 2011 by Maxine Stonehill. Born and bred in London with a strong love of vintage and a family history in the fashion industry, she was inspired to start her own fairs.
 
All the fairs are choc-a-bloc full of handpicked, quality vintage traders who offer a wide range of genuine vintage goods. From women's & menswear, both designer and affordable, to a stunning array of vintage jewellery, fashion accessories, haberdashery, retro furnishings, mid-century homeware, vintage posters, antique maps, industrial and salvage, collectables, curiosities and more, all from the 1920’s to 1980’s.
 
Their annual event at the Wilton's Music Hall first started out seven years ago, following the restoration project. Vintage shopping, live jazz and blues, cocktails and food, so that is Thursday night sorted.
 
Date: Thursday 21st July 2022
Time: 4.30pm to 9.30pm
Entry on the door: £5 Adults/£3 NUS (no advance bookings)
Wilton’s Music Hall, 1 Graces Alley, London E1 8JB