Astoria Centre, Barnsley

Home
United Kingdom
Barnsley
Astoria Centre, Barnsley

The National Theatre Organ Heritage Centre, located in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.

27/04/2026

Tickets now on sale.

06/04/2026

We hope that you all are having a good and blessed Easter Bank Holiday.

Our weekly Wednesday Afternoon Tea Dance continues as normal this week, so if your usual dancing venue is closed for the Easter holidays, why not come along to the Astoria Centre and support this venue, run by volunteers for the benefit of the community?

We present a varied mix of popular sequence, old time and modern ballroom dances and are always open to including a few requests too.

There’s live music on the Compton organ, played by Kevin Grunill, who played at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool for numerous seasons.

We look forward to welcoming you to the Astoria Centre, Barnsley.

BBC Strictly Come Dancing, Go Yorkshire, Ballroom Dancing Club.

01/04/2026

We hope that you have a good Easter this coming weekend.

The Astoria Centre is open as usual for our weekly Wednesday Afternoon Tea Dance, so come along and enjoy live music with Kevin Grunill at the Compton organ, providing music for dancing.

Doors open at 12.00 and dancing commences at 1pm.

31/03/2026

We’ve had another splendid day at the Astoria Centre today.

It was a pleasure to welcome our friends from Great Preston dance group, who visited us for a private dance. Following a delicious afternoon tea, lovingly prepared by our wonderful team of volunteers, it was music and dancing all the way through the rest of the afternoon.

Kevin Grunill was at the console of the Compton organ, as well as the Technics FA1 and played pretty much non-stop, so that our guests could burn off a few calories from the afternoon tea.

A huge thanks to everyone who made it such a pleasurable afternoon, especially our great team of volunteers, who keep the Astoria Centre in fine fettle and who we just couldn’t manage without - you’re the best.

Here’s a few photos, taken throughout the afternoon.
Photos; David Mears & Annette Barker

Where can I go dancing UK, Go Yorkshire, Barnsley Heritage Connects, Barnsley CVS, We Are Barnsley

15/03/2026

Over 100 audience members were treated to a superb afternoon of theatre organ magic yesterday with Richard Hills at the Compton organ. Richard certainly made the 10th Anniversary concert a special one, as he put the Compton through its paces and it responded beautifully, showing man and machine in perfect harmony.

The Astoria Compton was opened 10 years ago by Nigel Ogden & Kevin Grunill. Sadly, Nigel passed away just a month or so ago but through the technology of the Uniflex Organ Control System, which records all key and stop signals, and in turn actually plays the pipes etc, therefore replaying exactly what the organist played, we were able to hear Nigel perform his signature tune on the Compton exactly as he did at that opening concert 10 years ago. It was quite emotional to experience and a fitting way to open the second half of the afternoon’s proceedings.

Richard returned to the console, continuing the tribute and the remainder of the concert, much to the audience’s delight.

The rapturous applause at the end of the afternoon said it all and Richard gave a vibrant, dexterous and humorous version of ‘Tiger Rag’, which he’s made into his trademark encore.

We couldn’t have wished for a better way to celebrate our 10th Anniversary.

14/03/2026

Today’s the day.
Don’t miss Richard Hills back at the console of the Compton organ to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the opening of the Astoria Centre.

12/03/2026

We continue a look back at the creation of the Astoria Centre as part of our 10th Anniversary celebrations.

The ‘blood’ in any pipe organ is the wind required to supply over 1000 pipes with air to make them sing. This air is supplied by a large centrifugal blower that resembles a bouncing bomb. Made from solid cast iron and engineered with such precision, the blower not only moves air but pressurises it too, giving an output of around 26 inches of wind (water gauge).

The blower at the Astoria Centre was built in 1929 for the Compton organ at the Orpheum, Golders Green, London, where it originally provided wind for 8 ranks of pipes. Today, it is providing wind for 21 ranks at the Astoria Centre.

Our wonderful team of volunteers, (many from engineering backgrounds), stripped-down and refurbished the blower prior to its installation.

The ‘beating heart’ of the organ is rarely seen, so here’s a number of photographs of it.

Be part of our 10th Anniversary concert this coming Saturday afternoon. Advance tickets are available using the link below.

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/astoriacentre

10/03/2026

As we lead up to our 10th Anniversary concert with Richard Hills this coming Saturday afternoon at 2.30pm, let’s take another look back at the work carried out by our wonderful team of volunteers, who made it all possible.

Having restored various parts of the organ, it was time for the restored items to be fitted in place. New wooden wind ducting was made in our workshop and this runs in two long sections with the regulators mounted on top.

A sub-floor was created with framework, which keeps any wind noise down to a minimum and makes tuning and maintenance much easier.

Come along this coming Saturday and hear the wonderful results of this labour of love in the capable hands (and feet) of one of the finest theatre organists in the U.K.

Tickets can be purchased in advance using the link below.

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/astoriacentre/

09/03/2026

Here’s another look back at the building of the Astoria Centre.

Having constructed the basic pipe chamber area, it was time to fit the framework for the positioning of the unit chests. These were loosely put into position, so that the support legs could be fitted in the correct positions to give maximum support where required.

08/03/2026

As we look forward to the 10th Anniversary celebration concert this coming Saturday with Richard Hills, here’s a few photographs of the construction of what would become the Astoria Centre.

The concept and design was created by our Chairman - Kevin Grunill and was constructed by our wonderful volunteers. Around 6 years of work restoring parts and building the organ took place before the opening event in 2016.

Come along and share the celebration with us on Saturday 14th March at 2.30pm. Tickets available via the link below.

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/astoriacentre

Address

Unit 16a Metro Trading Centre, Barugh Green Road
Barnsley
S751JT

Telephone

+447944566972

Website

http://www.astoriacentre.co.uk/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Astoria Centre, Barnsley posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Want your establishment to be the top-listed Arts & Entertainment in Barnsley?