DO you remember this soon-to-be-destroyed Herefordshire venue?
The Park Hall Ballroom in Wormelow, was once an immensely popular music and events venue, featuring a revolving stage and elegant grounds.
Between the 1950s and the 1980s it hosted acts including Joe Loss and his Orchestra, the Moody Blues, Status Quo, Hot Chocolate and Madness, and had some later success as a nightclub.
It was bought by Ross-on-Wye businessman Henry Danter in 1988, originally with the intention of turning it into industrial units but fell victim to a fire in 2004.
What remains of the building is now set to be demolished and replaced by five houses and 15 holiday lodges.
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Members of We Grew Up in Hereford have been sharing their memories of Park Hall and reflecting on the good times in light of the news of the building’s oncoming destruction.
The ballroom holds an important place in the hearts of many locals, with it being the venue of a number of wedding receptions, birthday parties and other special occasions.
“We had our wedding reception there in 1972,” said Susan McCron.
“One of the first in the new dining extension and my husband’s band ‘Sagittarius’ played many times including the final night before they closed.”
It was also the setting of many wild nights out and half-remembered antics.
Bev Keswick said: “I saw Steve Wright there. He got my boyfriend and I up on stage with another couple.
“The boys had to stand on a chair with a cucumber, will leave that bit to the imagination, the girls then had to see who could eat the cucumber the fastest.
“Still hate cucumber.”
As always there are those who refuse to put their rose-tinted glasses on and posit that things were not perhaps as good as people now make them out to be.
Jimmy Knees said: “It was a toilet in the 1980's, what took them so long?”
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