Fairfield Halls
Corporate brand
UnclaimedAn arts, entertainment and conference centre in Croydon, London, comprising concert, theatre and gallery spaces.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Fairfield Halls is a major arts, entertainment and conference venue in Croydon, south London. Opened in 1962, it was developed on land associated with Croydon's historic Fair Field and on top of disused railway cuttings that had once connected the main London–Brighton railway with Croydon Central station. The site had also been used as a car park and for wartime air-raid shelters before the present complex was built. The centre's principal spaces include the 1,801-seat Concert Hall, the 755-seat Ashcroft Theatre and the Arnhem Gallery, which can accommodate standing audiences of up to approximately 400 people. Its programming has encompassed orchestral and classical concerts, popular music, theatre, comedy, dance, conferences, community activity, professional wrestling, broadcasts and filming. The Concert Hall has also been used for BBC television and radio work, orchestral recording and live album projects. Artists associated with performances or recordings at the venue include David Bowie, Elton John, the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Queen, Stevie Wonder, the Who, Kraftwerk, Morrissey, Genesis, the Stranglers and many other British and international acts. Fairfield has a particularly strong connection with recorded music. Live or partly live projects associated with the building include work by Delaney & Bonnie & Friends with Eric Clapton and George Harrison, the Nice's Five Bridges, Soft Machine's Third, Family's Anyway, Free Live! and Tangerine Dream's Ricochet. The venue has also hosted notable comedy, including a 1973 appearance by Morecambe and Wise that was filmed and is regarded as the only recorded example of their complete live stage act. Professional wrestling was another recurring use: the venue appeared in televised wrestling programming during the 1970s and 1980s and was used by All Star Wrestling for major cards over several decades. London Mozart Players has been the resident orchestra since 1989. Chineke! and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra have been associated with the venue as orchestras-in-partnership. Following the 2019 reopening, Talawa Theatre Company relocated to Fairfield Halls and occupied a dedicated theatre space and offices. SAVVY Theatre also became a resident company around that period, although it closed in 2024. The centre marked its fiftieth anniversary in 2012 with an anniversary concert by the London Mozart Players attended by the Earl of Wessex. A historical archive website launched at the same time contained approximately 2,000 digitised images, making the collection one of the largest digitised venue archives in Europe. In 2014 the Arnhem Gallery was refurbished, the former Green Room was converted into the New Studio, and the Concert Hall received updated digital projection and Dolby Surround 7.1 equipment. Fairfield Halls closed in July 2016 for a large redevelopment led by Croydon Council as part of a wider town-centre cultural and educational programme. The redevelopment was initially discussed as a roughly £30 million modernisation and was intended to improve the venue while supporting new homes, offices, shops and educational facilities nearby. The project experienced delays, substantial cost growth and incomplete elements. Fairfield reopened on 16 September 2019, but the venue then faced another interruption during the COVID-19 pandemic and returned to wider use in 2021. During the pandemic, it served as a mass vaccination centre. Today it remains a publicly owned Croydon cultural venue used for performances, conferences, recordings, filming, community activity and resident-organisation work.
History
Fairfield Halls occupies a site linked to Croydon's historical Fair Field, where a well-known fair continued until approximately 1860. The land later stood above disused railway cuttings that had connected the main London–Brighton railway with Croydon Central station. From 1930 until the construction of the halls, it was used for a car park and, during the Second World War, air-raid shelters. The present Fairfield Halls opened in 1962 as a purpose-built cultural and entertainment complex. Its design brought together a substantial concert hall, a theatre and gallery facilities, allowing the building to serve both local audiences and touring performers. The Concert Hall became particularly important for orchestral work, broadcasting and music recording, while the Ashcroft Theatre supported drama, comedy, dance and other staged productions. The venue's scale also made it suitable for conferences, televised events and professional wrestling. Across the following decades, Fairfield Halls developed a broad cultural profile. Its stages hosted major popular artists, orchestras, comedians and touring productions. The building was used by BBC television and radio and became associated with recordings by artists including the Nice, Soft Machine, Family, Free, Tangerine Dream and Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. In the 1970s and 1980s it was regularly used for televised wrestling, including programmes connected with ITV's World of Sport. A later World of Sport Wrestling pilot was filmed there in 2013. The venue also appeared in film and television productions, including The Da Vinci Code, Made in Dagenham, Cuban Fury and the BBC sitcom Terry and June's opening titles. London Mozart Players became the resident orchestra in 1989. From 1993 until 2016, Fairfield Halls was operated by a self-financing charitable organisation governed by trustees, with an operating grant from Croydon Council. In 2012 the building celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. The London Mozart Players performed an anniversary concert attended by the Earl of Wessex, and a digital archive was launched with approximately 2,000 historical images. The archive was intended both to document the venue and to provide a searchable record of its history. The council funded improvements in 2014, including refurbishment of the Arnhem Gallery, conversion of the former Green Room into the New Studio and installation of modern projection and Dolby Surround 7.1 equipment in the Concert Hall. These works preceded a much larger redevelopment. Croydon Council, the freeholder, had considered various refurbishment schemes over a number of years. In 2015 it appointed a consultant team led by Mott MacDonald to develop a programme for Fairfield Halls alongside works on the wider College Green site. In February 2016 the council confirmed that Fairfield Halls would close for approximately two years from July as part of a town-centre cultural and educational quarter. The wider plans included new homes, offices, shops and a Croydon College building. The venue's operator entered administration in July 2016, and the redevelopment was subsequently affected by repeated opening delays, rising costs and incomplete elements. The overall modernisation was widely described as a project of about £30 million. Fairfield Halls reopened on 16 September 2019. The reopening period brought new institutional relationships: Talawa Theatre Company relocated into the building, taking a 200-seat theatre space and offices, while SAVVY Theatre became a resident company around the same time. Chineke! and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra have also been associated with the venue as orchestras-in-partnership. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted normal operations, and in 2021 the building was repurposed temporarily as a mass vaccination centre. It subsequently resumed its role as a multipurpose cultural and events venue. Its current identity rests on the combination of local civic ownership, large-scale performance spaces, resident arts organisations and a heritage of music, broadcasting, recording and filmed entertainment.
- 2021
Mass vaccination centre
[1]Fairfield Halls is used for mass COVID-19 vaccination activity in the United Kingdom.
- 2019
Reopening after redevelopment
[1]The venue reopens on 16 September after a delayed redevelopment programme.
- 2016
Closure for major redevelopment
[1]Fairfield Halls closes in July for a large redevelopment connected with Croydon's cultural and educational quarter programme.
- 2014
Gallery, studio and projection improvements
[1]The Arnhem Gallery is refurbished, the former Green Room becomes the New Studio and the Concert Hall receives updated projection and surround-sound equipment.
- 2012
Fiftieth anniversary and archive launch
[1]The venue marks fifty years with a London Mozart Players concert and launches a searchable digital archive containing about 2,000 images.
- 1989
London Mozart Players become resident orchestra
[1]The London Mozart Players begin their continuing residency at Fairfield Halls.
- 1962
Fairfield Halls opens
[1]The Croydon arts and entertainment complex opens with concert, theatre and gallery facilities.
Products and positioning
A large, publicly owned London cultural venue combining music, theatre, orchestral activity, conferences, recording, filming and community use, with a distinctive history in live popular music and televised entertainment.
Concert venue · 1962
Concert Hall
The principal performance space has approximately 1,801 seats, including choir-stall seating. It supports orchestral concerts, touring popular music, broadcasts, recording sessions, filmed events and large public presentations. Its history includes performances and recordings by major rock, electronic, jazz and classical artists, as well as regular use by resident and partner orchestras.
Theatre · 1962
Ashcroft Theatre
The Ashcroft Theatre is a 755-seat theatre used for drama, comedy, dance, family entertainment, touring productions and other staged performances. It forms one of the venue's core public-facing spaces and complements the larger Concert Hall with a more theatre-oriented configuration.
Gallery and event space · 1962
Arnhem Gallery
The Arnhem Gallery provides a flexible area for exhibitions, receptions, community events and standing concerts of up to approximately 400 people. It underwent refurbishment in 2014 as part of improvements made before the main redevelopment.
Studio and performance space · 2014
New Studio
The New Studio was created through the conversion of the former Green Room during the 2014 improvement programme. It expands Fairfield Halls' capacity for smaller-scale performance, rehearsal, creative development and community activity.
Events and conferences · 1962
Conference and event hire
Fairfield Halls offers spaces for conferences, receptions, public meetings, recordings, broadcasts, filming and other organised events. Its combination of auditorium, theatre, gallery and studio facilities allows the venue to support both large audiences and smaller functions.
Marketing campaigns
- 2012Fairfield Halls fiftieth-anniversary archive project
United Kingdom
The venue marked its fiftieth anniversary with a London Mozart Players concert and a digital archive project that made approximately 2,000 historical images searchable online.
Outcome. The project preserved and publicised Fairfield Halls' history and was described as one of Europe's largest digitised venue archives.
Brand decisions
2021
Repurpose venue as vaccination centreOtherBackground
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the venue's normal cultural and events programme.
Action taken
Fairfield Halls was used as a mass vaccination centre during the United Kingdom's COVID-19 vaccination programme.
Aftermath
The building later returned to its role as an arts, entertainment and events venue.
2016
Approve closure and major redevelopmentStrategyBackground
Croydon Council sought to modernise Fairfield Halls as part of a broader cultural and educational quarter in the town centre.
Action taken
The venue closed in July 2016 for a redevelopment programme described as costing about £30 million, alongside wider College Green works.
Aftermath
The reopening was delayed, project costs increased and not every planned element was completed. Fairfield Halls eventually reopened on 16 September 2019.
Redevelopment programme estimate. Approximately £30 million (2016–2018 programme period)
Sources2 sources
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