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The Central Bandstand, known as the Bandstand, in Herne Bay, Kent, England, was designed by H. Kempton Dyson in 1924, extended with an art deco frontage in 1932, and refurbished between 1998 and 1999. It is one of the coastal landmarks of the town. When first built, it was a popular venue for visiting military band concerts and for tea dances. Edwina Mountbatten spoke there on behalf of the Red Cross in 1939. In the 1920s and 1930s a red carpet would be laid across the road and up to the stage for the conductor of the brass band to walk from the Connaught Hotel which was directly opposite the Bandstand.〔 ==Location and construction== The Central Bandstand with its 1932 frontage has been described as an art deco landmark, and one of the first reinforced concrete structures in the UK.〔Herne Bay Gazette 6 May 1999: Art deco landmark will be Herne Bay's pride, by Dianne Stingemore〕〔 It straddles the beach and Central Parade just east of the Clock Tower. The back or seaward half, built in 1924, was originally supported above the beach on concrete pillars sheathed in cast iron, so that the stage was level with the main thoroughfare.〔Herne Bay Times 8 March 2001: Look back: battle of the bandstands was a fight against changing tastes, by Harold Gough〕 The tide used to go in and out under the building until at least the 1950s. During World War II when the Pier was out of bounds, anglers were permitted to fish from the rooftop balcony.〔 As of 2013 the beach has risen so that the piers are no longer visible and the sea has receded away from the Bandstand. File:Bandstand Herne Bay 003.jpg|Piers supporting bandstand visible above beach, 1920s File:Bandstand 032.jpg|Piers hidden below risen beach in 2013 It was first called the New Bandstand, and then the Central Bandstand, to differentiate it from other bandstands in Herne Bay, especially the bandstand which stood on the roof of the King's Hall and has since been demolished. The north or seaward side of the Central Bandstand was built in 1924, with alterations in 1931.〔(Town and Around Herne Bay, issue 61, May 2013: Back from the Brink: The Central Bandstand. )〕 The original architect was Herbert Kempton Dyson, M.I.Struct.E (1880–1944), who was a founder member of the Concrete Institute, and specialised in reinforced concrete structures.〔〔Herne Bay Gazette 26 February 1998, p.8: Remember when? (The newspaper's source is John Hawkins, "Herne Bay in Old Photographs", Sutton Publishing Ltd, ISBN 9780862998912)〕〔(Institution of Structural Engineers: The Late Mr. H. Kempton Dyson )〕 The 1924 section has two outside seaward-facing balconies with space for deckchairs, including a cantilevered roof for the lower deck and for covering the stage inside. Metal, glazed screens at the east and west sides of the building crossed the promenade, and could be moved to protect the audience from wind, or retracted into the wings to allow promenaders to cross when no band was playing.〔〔 The seating area was a railed-off section of the promenade, and the seating on the roof above the stage included two copper-covered domes, plus two domes which doubled as refreshment kiosks.〔 The roof is now inaccessible for safety reasons.〔 By the late 1920s the audience area in front of the stage had extended across Tower Gardens to the edge of the footpath and road.〔Herne Bay Gazette 11 July 1996: Remember When?〕 The frontage, built of steel, cast iron, glass and teak and leaving the centre roofless, was built in 1932 at a cost of £3,100 to accommodate up to 1,000 people and was opened by the Royal Artillery Band.〔 Contemporary drawings indicate that plans were under consideration to roof over the whole building, but that never happened.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Central Bandstand, Herne Bay」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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