It has an incredible story
While you will have no doubt heard of the many historic castles that dot Scotland's landscape, each with their own fascinating history dating back hundreds of years, you may be less familiar with the Britannia Panopticon Music Hall.
Famous for being one of the first venues in Scotland to be powered by electricity, the auditorium could hold approximately 1,500 visitors, and, at its peak, all of its shows in a day would have been completely packed. Perhaps most famously, a 16-year-old Stan Laurel made his stage debut at the venue, performing a comedy routine as part of an amateur night in 1906. He would later become half of legendary comedy duo Laurel and Hardy along with Oliver Hardy, with whom he would act in dozens of films.
Under Pickard's management, an attic carnival, a wax works, a freak show and even an indoor zoo were added to the newly converted attic and basement spaces, and the venue hosted dancing competitions, boxing demonstrations and much more. Fittingly, the word 'Panopticon' means "to see everything".
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