Leicester Square Hall

Artist: Unknown

Date: circa 1946

Medium: Pencil on Paper

Paper size: 19cm by 14cm

Originally built in 1901 as a billiards and snooker hall, Thurston’s Hall played host to a dozen World Snooker Championship finals until its closure in 1955. It was also home to the world-renowned Thurston & co., makers of billiards tables.

On 16th October 1940 the building was hit by a parachute mine, destroying much of the southeastern corner of Leicester Square Hall; Churchill’s Assistant Private Secretary John Coalville described it as ‘a desert’. Reconstruction took place until 1947, when it was reopened with its new name, with snooker matches resuming. In 1955 it was demolished to facilitate an extension for the neighbouring Fanum House.

The damage to Leicester Square Hall was also captured as a watercolour by Roland Pitchforth (1895 - 1982), as part of his work for Kenneth Clark’s War Artists’ Advisory Committee.