The Sanctuary
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The Sanctuary started as an empty warehouse. In December 1991 promoter Murray Beetson (ESP Promotions) held the first Dreamscape rave there. Four Dreamscape events ran between late 1991 and mid-1992, all selling out.
Tony Rosenberg then bought the site and turned it into a permanent venue. It reopened as the Sanctuary Music Arena in late 1992 / early 1993 with a capacity of around 3,500.
The nights
It became one of the biggest hardcore venues in the country. Promoters including Helter Skelter, Slammin’ Vinyl, Hardcore Heaven, Fantazia, Gatecrasher and others all ran nights there. It had a 12-hour licence and regularly pulled people from all over the UK.
What happened to it
The Sanctuary closed in July 2004. The building was demolished and the site is now an IKEA. In 2008 a group of former ravers held an unofficial reunion in the soft furnishings section of that IKEA.