Winter Gardens Behind the Scenes: What Will you Discover?

The Winter Gardens opens its doors once a year to the public for an exclusive access all areas event – for free!

You will have chance to visit backstage of the Opera House and chance to tread the boards that so many famous faces have previously walked on, visit the backstage dressing rooms, and get up-close to the historic Wurlitzer theatre organ.

The intention behind the design of Winter Gardens was “to place on the land a concert room, promenades, conservatories and other accessories calculated to convert the estate into a pleasant lounge, especially desirous during inclement days”. Perfect for a day in January!

The Winter Gardens has over 100 rooms, so I had no idea where to start! We opted for the Opera House, and I quickly realised quite how full the access is that you’ll have on the day.

Standing on the stage is absolutely incredible; standing on the same spot where Frank Sinatra and Lady Gaga  have performed was really something, and it was great to look out into the seats where I normally am when enjoying one of the many fantastic shows that the Winter Gardens hosts year-round.

The stage is the largest in the country, and you can only really appreciate its scale when you’re stood on it. It’s so technical, too! There seems to be an infinite number of pulleys and curtains that help create believable environments to help captivate you by the story.

Underneath the stage is a rabbit warren of dressing rooms and lifts to transport heavy items from the stage to conceal them below. From here, you can access the vast corridors of cellars that run under every one of the venue’s 100 rooms. A little spooky, but really fantastic to be able to see the full scale of the Winter Gardens; it’s huge!

Back above ground, it’s lovely to see that such efforts are being made to preserve the Winter Gardens heritage even in the smallest ways; it was charming to see posters of historic events, rotary dial telephones (many of which are still used!) throughout the buildings that speak to its rich cultural heritage.

I was most excited to explore the Empress Ballroom. During the Great War, the whole of the Winter Gardens premises had been thrown open to the naval and military forces stationed nearby. Early in 1918, the Admiralty had requisitioned the Empress Ballroom to assemble as envelopes for the R.33 airship. It wouldn’t have been the best idea to create a gas airship in a room lit by candle-lit chandeliers, so the original three large chandeliers, were permanently removed. In their place, twelve new electrical chandeliers were hung.

I don’t want to disclose all the secrets I learned – that’s for you to discover! However, I fully recommend setting aside some extra time to explore the Spanish suite; the plaster mouldings of the Spanish village that surrounds you are so intricately designed that you’ll want to examine each little cottage and tree in turn.

Here are just some of the other rooms you’ll get to explore:

• The iconic Winter Gardens Dome
• The private dining rooms occupied by many famous faces, including Winston Churchill!
• The Queen’s private lavatory (yes – really!)
• The Baronial Hall
• The Arena (the former Indian Lounge)

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience going behind the scenes at the Winter Gardens – so much so, in fact, that I’ll be joining you all at the Winter Gardens on Sunday, the 29^th of January to look around any nooks and crannies I missed! Thank you very much to the Winter Gardens for having me and for the lovely pictures here!

The venue will be fully-accessible for all and open between 11:00 – 15:00. There will be plenty of guides on hand to show you around as well as information boards. No need to book on; just turn up and explore at your leisure. Have fun!