The Subscription rooms are Stroud Town’s (Gloucestershire, England) community hall. They are owned by the council and hosts community events and plays host to bands and stage shows. It is a late Regency building and looks like a stereotypical town hall, with steps leading up to the large double doors underneath a stone and concrete porch-type roof held up by large stone pillars. In front is a medium-sized plaza with sunken lights and a tree growing out of it on the left-hand side. The building looks fairly impressive, not really keeping with the character of the town, which on the whole is run down and grotty.
Inside is a tourist information area, which provides books and pamphlets about what’s going on in the area and also sells tickets to performances at the Sub Rooms or general area. There is a small bar which is quite expensive, but not very strict when it comes to age restrictions. The bar sells a fairly typical small range of beer, larger and alcho-pops. There is also a large ballroom that will seat about 400 people and has a sprung floor making it popular with dance groups. The ballroom also contains a stage for a band..
The rooms were built in 1833 and got their unusual name from the fact that they were paid for by subscription. This meant that a committee of shareholders built it, each paying £50. The land it is built on was bought from a bankrupt man for £420 and construction work began. The building was opened with much ceremony on the 27th October 1834.
The Sub Rooms has played host to many bands, and is often a substitute nightclub for the youth of the town since it’s cheaper than anywhere else. It’s crowning glory is the fact that The Beatles once played there, quite possibly the most exciting thing to happen in the town, ever (well, would have been had it not been for the fact that it was 1961 and virtually no-one had heard of them, in fact no-one was very impressed because when they returned six months later only half the audience turned up) . All in all these rooms are an asset to the town, but could do with a bit of renovating since they have a very 60’s interior with a too utilitarian feel to them, as opposed to the Regency or Victorian grandness that they should enjoy. In fact, that could be said for most of the town.