Venue: Albert Hall Music Hall
Town: Hull, GB

The Albert Hall Music Hall on 10 Midland Street was one of the first music halls built in Kingston upon Hull, England. The building is believed to have been built following the creation of Midland Street, and officially opened for the first time in 1874. It was turned into a saloon bar and pub in the early 20th century, before its final transformation into a bingo hall in the 1970s. In 2015, the Hull City Council served a Section 215 notice on the building's private owners, ordering them to repair and restore it by the end of the month or pay the bill for its subsequent demolition. The building was considered to be in a potentially dangerous condition after a survey was carried out following a fire in May 2015 at a neighbouring building. It was partially demolished in June 2015. The building is currently owned by Tawazun London Limited. Following the creation of Hull Paragon Station, Midland Street made a direct link from the then new railway station to Osborne Street, Porter Street and the surrounding areas. As it faced the station entrance the new street was officially named Midland Street in 1859. Plans confirm that the Albert Hall was a somewhat speculative venture, built in April 1873 by a local merchant William Fussey. The first plans show a simple warehouse on two levels with no use attributed to either floor. A decision was soon made for the use of the new building however, as a year later plans were drawn-up for two tiny ‘dressing rooms’ with a ‘kitchen below’ that were attached to the north-west wall of the building. These plans refer to the building as the ‘Albert Hall Inn’ and were dated and approved in April 1874. The dressing rooms suggest Mr Fussey’s immediate incursion into the entertainment business, which was already a family interest, and the use of music hall acts. The success or otherwise of the Albert Hall in Hull as a music venue is unclear but in 1890 historian Edmund Wrigglesworth noted it was ‘occasionally used as a place of entertainment’