Plaque for Paul Robeson Winter Garden, Eastbourne

Aim

Help us commemorate Paul Robeson's legendary performances at Eastbourne's Winter Garden in the 1920s and 1930s with a plaque and a ceremony

Advertisement for Paul Robeson at the Winter Garden in the Eastbourne Gazette, 17 April 1935

After many years of campaigning, the Paul Robeson Campaign has reached success. We are delighted to announce we have the go ahead from Trafalgar (who manage Eastbourne’s theatres) for a commemorative event to celebrate Paul Robeson at the Winter Garden. This will be held at 3pm on 25th October, during Black History Month.

 Paul Robeson performed regularly in the Floral Room at the Winter Garden from the late 1920s until 1939. With standing room audiences of 2000 and queues of disappointed fans left outside. With rave reviews in the local papers.

But as well as being a world performing bass baritone singer; an All-American football hero; an accomplished stage and film actor; an Ivy League trained lawyer; and a speaker of multiple languages; he was, of course, the greatest civil rights activist of his time. 

Everywhere he travelled he spoke out for civil rights and working people. He joined workers on strikes, he struck up a lifelong friendship with the poverty-stricken Welsh miners after he’d heard them singing whilst on their hunger march to London. He visited Brigaders on the front lines in the Spanish Civil War’s fight against fascism. 

The Winter Garden commemorative event has been especially planned to take place during Black History Month of October. 

We need to raise money for a plaque and installation plus a special ceremony to unveil the plaque and open the Paul Robeson Room with guest speakers and performers including Tayo Aluko (Call Mr Robeson) - this crowdfunder will only cover some of the costs and the event itself will be a separate ticketed event with the link here once it is set up.     

For more information please contact [email protected]

This campaign is backed by the Eastbourne Society and Eastbourne TUC 

 https://peopleseastbourne.com/2026/06/27/commemoration-of-paul-robeson-at-the-winter-garden/

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 29th September 2026 at 4:01pm