Survey Data
Reg No
12317063
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Cultural, Social
Original Use
Theatre/opera house/concert hall
Historical Use
Cinema
In Use As
Shop/retail outlet
Date
1905 - 1915
Coordinates
258418, 141866
Date Recorded
18/05/2004
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Attached three-bay double-height gable-fronted Classical-style concert hall, dated 1910, originally detached. Subsequently in use as cinema, 1948-9. Now in commercial use. Pitched (gable-fronted) slate roof with clay ridge tiles, copper-clad vent to apex, louvered panel vent, rendered eaves to gable, and cast-iron rainwater goods on timber eaves. Unpainted rendered walls with rendered Classical-style frontispiece to ground floor having pilasters supporting fascia with raised lettering, and moulded cornice. Square-headed window openings with concrete sills, and timber casement windows. Square-headed door opening with rendered date stone keystone, and glazed tongue-and-groove timber panelled double doors having overlight. Set back from line of road.
Appraisal
An attractive public building conforming to the appearance of many contemporary concert halls (and later cinemas) across the country whereby a finely-detailed façade masks a functional, almost utilitarian auditorium block. Rendered dressings producing the Classical-style frontispiece contribute significantly to the architectural value of the site while the retention of substantial quantities of the historic fabric enhances the character of the site in the street scene.