A sizable crowd braved a bracing sea breeze for Swanage Town Band’s new festive tradition of an outdoor carol concert at the town’s bandstand.
Despite the chilling wind on Wednesday 11th December 2024, the evening stayed dry and almost a hundred people wrapped up warmly and joined in a rousing programme of festive music on the Recreation Ground.
Conductor John Watkins led Swanage Town Band in a programme of carols and Christmas songs
Christmas songs for the children
It was the first carol concert for the band’s new conductor John Watkins and one of the biggest audiences since Swanage Town Band took its service outside in 2021 following a cancellation caused by Covid the previous year.
It was decided three years ago that an outdoor venue was the safest option while the country made a slow recovery out of lockdown, but immediately proved to be a popular addition to the town’s festive calendar.
The carol concert opened with Oh Come, All Ye Faithful, While Shepherds Watched and Silent Night, also adding some favourite Christmas songs for the children including Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
A collection was taken on the night for Julia’s House Hospice, Swanage Town Band’s chosen charity for 2024, to add to a total of £2,000 already raised during the year.
Although the musicians had to wrap up warmly, everyone had fun at the concert
“People have been incredibly generous”
Swanage Town Band conductor John Watkins said:
“People have been incredibly generous for Julia’s House this year, but there is still a long way to go for everything they want to do.
“They are a children’s hospice based in Corfe Mullen, an incredible charity which does quite amazing work for Purbeck and Dorset, and it would be a wonderful Christmas present for them if Peter, our treasurer, was able to present them with a load of money.
“We held a Christmas concert at Swanage Methodist Church on Wednesday 4th December, where we had a lot of people braving the stormy weather to join us – it was lucky that we were indoors on that occasion!
“Before the concert we had already raised £800 from our bandstand concerts over the summer, and I said during the event it would be great if we could get to a target of £1,000 to give to Julia’s House.”
Swanage Town Band’s Christmas Concert at the Methodist Church raised £1,200 for Julia’s House
An old fashioned outdoor concert
John added:
“We had an extremely generous audience whose donations totalled a whopping £1,201.52, which just goes to show what a wonderful, warm hearted community we have in Swanage.
“Combined with the donations from our church concert, we have now raised £2,001.52 for Julia’s House and we’re hoping that collections tonight at the bandstand can boost that figure even further.
“It has been encouraging to see so many people here on such a cold night. We have been quite lucky with the weather, given everything that has already happened this week, but it has stayed dry and it seems that people do love having an old fashioned carol concert outside.
“It is always a joy to play with Swanage Town Band, but support from the public makes it even more worthwhile, so on behalf of the band and Julia’s House, a huge thank you to everyone who has joined us this Christmas!”
Hats, gloves, coats, shawls and torches were the order of the day for carollers at the concert
The bandstand on the Recreation Ground overlooking Swanage Bay at night
Bandstand originally built in 1923
Swanage Town Band, which has a repertoire including show tunes, popular songs and marches as well as carols, has around 40 musicians who play cornet, oboe, flute, clarinet, horn, saxophone, trombone, bass and percussion amongst other instruments.
Swanage bandstand – now in its second century – was originally built in 1923 after young soldiers returned home from World War One and found themselves unemployed, so ‘for the benefit of their mental health’ they were put to work digging out the amphitheatre in which the bandstand sits
They also built the surrounding walls and the two-tier seating area out of local Purbeck stone, with the bandstand itself built by Glasgow company Walter MacFarlane, leading manufacturers of the cast iron ‘parkitecture’ movement of the 1920s.
But during bitter storms in the winter of 2011 to 2012 the roof of the bandstand suffered severe damage, was found to contain asbestos and had to be taken down.
Sheet music had to be firmly fixed down during the concert to foil a chilly wind
Friends of Swanage Bandstand led by Alan Houghton (right) oversaw the restoration of the bandstand to its former glory
A much loved asset for the town
In 2017, after Swanage Town Council announced it was considering dismantling what was left of the bandstand and filling in the amphitheatre, a public outcry led to the Friends of Swanage Bandstand being formed and raising around £150,000 to restore and rebuild the bandstand.
It officially reopened in October 2019, postponed from a summer date as the work was not quite complete and unfortunately in the middle of an autumn storm, but still attended by an estimated 500 people.
The bandstand has since become a much loved asset for the town and has a full programme of summer concerts.
A programme of carols and Christmas songs was just the ticket to get into the festive spirit
Christmas jumpers and bobble hats proved essential at the bandstand
Further information
- The latest news from Swanage Town Band is on its Facebook page
