The building was rundown and past its best, but it was still a popular place for young people to spend their leisure time.

There was also good news on the horizon - the Catacombs’ youth centre would soon have new premises.

The centre in Pembroke Street in central Oxford was part of St Aldate’s Church and was being replaced by a new building near the Westgate shopping centre.

Princess Anne arrives to open the new youth centre in 1972

Princess Anne arrives to open the new youth centre in 1972

It was designed to cater for a nightly attendance of 100, although more were expected for weekend dances.

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The dance floor was to be in the basement, with a stage and a built-in discotheque booth.

Why in the basement?

According to full-time youth leader John Bird, who was to run the centre, “dancing below ground seems to hold an extra kick for teenagers”.

Princess Anne at the new youth centre in Oxford in 1972

Princess Anne at the new youth centre in Oxford in 1972

Other features on the ground and second floors included a large coffee bar and lounge, snack bar ‘snugs’, each with four tables, a room for games, arts and crafts and drama, and a counselling room to sort out members’ personal problems.

Mr Bird told the Oxford Mail in 1970: “The Catacombs’ premises will not survive for much longer. In any case, the club has grown so much, it has grown out of them.”

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As we recorded (Memory Lane, January 25), the new building was opened by Princess Anne in June 1972.

More than 70 youth club members were inside the building in Littlegate Street in June 1972 when the Princess, wearing a light beige fabric coat and broad-rimmed brown velour hat, arrived.