Ralli Hall

Ralli Hall is a community centre, events venue, theatre stage, business hub and impressive main hall in Hove, part of the English coastal city of Brighton and Hove. Built in 1913 as a memorial to Stephen Ralli, a member of a wealthy Greek family who had donated money to many causes throughout Brighton and Hove, it was used for about 60 years as a church hall linked to Hove's parish church. The Brighton & Hove Jewish community subsequently bought it, and in 1976 it came back into use as a community and social centre for Jewish and other groups. The Wrenaissance-style brick structure occupies a prominent corner site in a conservation area and provides a visual contrast to the older villas around it. English Heritage has listed the building at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.HistoryThe Ralli family, the first members of which moved to England in the 1820s from Chios in Greece, established a successful trading empire in London in the 19th century. Their business focused on grain and shipping, and by 1873 the five pioneering brothers and six other relatives had a listing on the Baltic Exchange. Stephen Augustus Ralli, son of Augustus Ralli, made his fortune in grain and owned houses in London and the seaside resort of Hove: he lived at St Catherine's Lodge on Kingsway from 1894 until his death in 1902.