text: victoria rooms , bristol the victoria rooms , also known as the vic rooms , houses the university of bristol 's music department in clifton , bristol , england , on a prominent site at the junction of queens road and whiteladies road . the building , originally assembly rooms , was designed by charles dyer and was constructed between 1838 and 1842 in greek revival style , and named in honour of queen victoria , who had acceded to the throne in the previous year . an eight column corinthian portico surmounts the entrance , with a classical relief sculpture designed by musgrave watson above . the construction is of dressed stonework , with a slate roof . a bronze statue of edward vii , was erected in 1912 at the front of the victoria rooms , together with a curved pool and several fountains with sculptures in the art nouveau style . the victoria rooms contain a 665 - seat auditorium , a lecture theatre , recital rooms , rehearsal rooms and a recording studio . jenny lind and charles dickens performed at the victoria rooms . it was also the venue for important dinners and assemblies , including banquets to commemorate the opening of the clifton suspension bridge and the anniversary of cabot 's discovery of north america , meetings which led to the establishment of the university college , bristol , an early congress of the british association for the advancement of science and " at - homes " . the building was purchased and given to the university in 1920 as a home for the student union and , circa 1924 , it spent a brief period as a cinema . following a fire in 1934 , the building was refurbished by the university . it remained as the base of the student union until purpose built facilities were opened in queens road in the 1960s . the victoria rooms then became an exhibition and conference centre , before housing the music department in 1996 . they remain in use in the 21st century for concerts , exhibitions , plays , recitals and lectures . the building the victoria rooms , also known colloquially as the vic rooms , are situated at the junction of queen 's road and whiteladies road , in clifton , bristol , " occupying one of the finest sites in clifton , " according to a 1906 visitor 's guide . gomme , in bristol : an architectural history ( 1979 ) , described it as a key building on a prominent intersection . the building was designed as assembly rooms by charles dyer . the foundation stone was laid on 24 may 1838 , the 19th birthday of queen victoria , in whose honour the building was named . building works in the greek revival style , incorporating an eight - columned corinthian portico which is 30 feet ( 9 . 1 m ) tall , were completed in 1842 . it is constructed of ashlar ( dressed stone work ) with steps leading up to the portico . the roof is of slate . two sloping ramps were built to allow the passage of carriages into the building . the pediment in the blind attic above the columns has a relief carving attributed to musgrave watson " depicting wisdom in her chariot ushering in the morning , and followed by the three graces " , according to andrew foyle in pevsner 's guide . he adds that the main hall was disappointingly remodelled in 1935 , following a fire the previous year . in 1838 , the design of the interior was described as " nothing either particularly remarkable or new in regard to design " in the civil engineer and architects ' journal . in 1849 , the interior of the hall was described by chilcott , in his descriptive history of bristol as being decorated in a greek theme , to match the exterior of the building . gomme describes the pediment sculpture as " minerva in car driven by apollo , accompanied by the hours and graces " , attributing the sculpture to jabez tyley . henry lonsdale , writing in 1866 , explains this anomaly by revealing that tyley created the sculpture in bath stone from a plaster of paris model by watson . the architecture of the building is described by english heritage as " a product of european trends of the time , moving away from neoclassicism and towards roman corinthian design . " it has been designated by english heritage as a grade ii * listed building . inside the main entrance is a vestibule which then leads via an octagonal room , with a bowed cast - iron railed balcony and a domed ceiling , to the main auditorium . a correspondent of the bristol mercury , in 1846 , described an ingenious central heating system consisting of a cast iron stove which heated and circulated air , " using less than half a cwt . [ 25 kilograms ( 55 lb ) ] of welsh anthracite in twenty - four hours " , kept the interior of the building some 30 to 40 ° f ( 16 to 22 ° c ) higher than the external temperature . much of the interior was remodelled in the mid - 20th century , although some period plaster decorations remain in the regency room . from 1873 the main auditorium housed a large organ originally built for the royal panopticon of arts and science in leicester square , from where it was removed to st paul 's cathedral and thence to the victoria rooms . in july 1899 it was decided to replace this with an electric organ , which could be played from a keyboard at a considerable distance from the organ itself . the organ was built by norman & beard , and was first played by edwin on 31 october 1900 ; on 1 december 1934 , a fire started under the stage of the great hall or auditorium , quickly spreading . the times reported that " the brigades were able to no more than prevent the fire from extending to the lesser hall and the recreation rooms . the fine electric organ was completely destroyed . " in the 21st century , the building houses a 665 - seat auditorium and rehearsal rooms . the auditorium is approximately 418 square metres ( 4 , 500 sq ft ) , with an adjacent lecture theatre of some 119 square metres ( 1 , 280 sq ft ) and a recital room of 139 square metres ( 1 , 500 sq ft ) . the purpose built composition and recording studios are in regular use for research and the creation of works . other facilities include a bar , common rooms , a resource centre and practice rooms . forecourt the building was originally surrounded by iron railings as shown in 19th century photographs , but these are no longer there , possibly removed during the second world war as part of a nationwide scrap drive . a memorial statue of edward vii , designed by edwin alfred rickards and executed by henry poole ra , was erected in 1912 at the front of the victoria rooms , together with a curved pool , lamps , steps , balustrades , ornamental crouching lions and fountains with sculptures in the art nouveau style . two sphinxes , which had previously guarded the building , were removed for these new works . the statue and fountains are regarded as fine examples of rickards and poole 's work and have been grade ii * listed . an interesting feature of the fountains is that the water flow is controlled by an anemometer " so that on windy days the pressure is reduced in order that the water does not blow across the adjacent roadway . " history the victoria rooms were opened on 24 may 1842 ; building had begun in 1838 , and cost £ 23 , 000 . the money was raised by a " body of conservative citizens " . jenny lind and charles dickens were just two of the artists known to have performed there . numerous private subscription balls were held at the rooms , in competition with those organised at the assembly rooms in the mall , clifton . this rivalry occasioned disputes between the promoters and accusations of prejudice and snobbery . other uses included what was the first public demonstration of electric lighting in bristol in 1863 . it was also the scene for large banquets , such as that to celebrate the opening of the clifton suspension bridge in 1864 , and the celebrations , in 1897 , of the four hundredth anniversary of john cabot 's discovery of north america . on 11 june 1874 the victoria rooms hosted a meeting to promote what was described as a college of science and literature for the west of england and south wales , which became university college , bristol , an educational institution which existed from 1876 to 1909 . it was the predecessor institution to the university of bristol , which gained a royal charter in 1909 . the meeting was attended by the then president of the british association and sir william thompson ( later lord kelvin ) . this meeting has been described as a partial success , as it gained the support of albert fry and lewis fry , members of the influential fry family ( the fry name being known for the chocolate business set up by their grandfather and developed by their father joseph storrs fry ) . lewis fry was a quaker , lawyer and later a liberal and unionist member of parliament from 1885 – 1892 and 1895 - 1890 for the constituency bristol north . in 1898 the third congress of the british association for the advancement of science was held at the rooms . in the early twentieth century , annie kenney and clara codd , local organisers of the women 's social and political union ( the suffragettes ) used the victoria rooms to host " at homes " , to which all were invited . in 1920 , the rooms were purchased from the original private company by wealthy local industrialist sir george wills and given to the university to house the students ' union . it appears that the university briefly leased the building for use as the clifton cinema which was situated there in march 1924 , when local photographer reece winstone took a photograph . all seats were priced at 1 / 3d . the victoria rooms remained the base for the student union until 1964 when a purpose - built facility was constructed in nearby queen 's road . the building then became a conference and exhibition centre , hosting occasional concerts such as those by pink floyd in 1967 and 1969 . in 1987 the building housed the first incarnation of the exploratory founded by richard gregory – a hands - on science centre and precursor of at - bristol – until 1989 . the university music department was moved into the victoria rooms in 1996 . the venue , in the 21st century , has a regular programme of concerts , theatrical performances , lectures and conferences , serving a similar purpose to that for which the building was constructed in the nineteenth century .