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THE ROYAL CENTRE NOTTINGHAM

ALTERNATIVE NAME:

ROYAL CONCERT HALL, THE EMPIRE THEATRE OF VARIETIES, THE THEATRE ROYAL

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Nottingham's Royal Centre contains the Theatre Royal and the Royal Concert Hall. The Theatre Royal was built in 1865 and redesigned in 1884 and 1897-98. At the same time (1897-8) the Empire Theatre of Varieties opened on the site of the Theatre Royal's old dressing rooms. In the late 1960's the Theatre Royal had become run down and was bought by Nottingham city council in 1969. It was restored and redeveloped in 1976-8 and reopened in 1978. The Empire Theatre closed in 1958 and was demolished in 1969. However, in 1980-82 the Royal Concert Hall was built on its site.

The Theatre Royal was built in 1865 by CJ Phipps, the period's first great theatre designer, for W & J Lambert and was originally envisaged as a "temple of drama"...a place of "innocent recreation and of moral and intellectual culture". It was altered in 1897-98 by Frank Matcham for Robert Arthur and Henry Moss and restored and remodelled again in 1976-78 by Renton Howard Wood Levin Partnership. The theatre has a stucco front with ornamental Corinthian portico and the rest of the building is clad in white tiles. The interior preserves a number of features which date to the various periods of alteration and restoration including the 1865 shallow domed ceiling of the circular auditorium, the 1897 cantilever balconies and the 1977 foyers, bars, box office, boxes, proscenium and rear screen to the dress circle. It was one of the most luxurious theatres of its time providing a venue for music hall, variety, light opera and by the 1920s and 30s Hollywood-style musicals and pantomimes.
The Empire Theatre of Varieties was built by Frank Matcham for the developer Henry Moss. It was open for 60 years and staged a variety of more popular productions and artistes including Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd. It was replaced in 1980-82 by the Royal Concert Hall which has a capacity of 2,499. The Royal Concert Hall stages a variety of performances of touring orchestras, comedians, dance acts and live music.

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Theatre built in 1865 by CJ Phipps for W & J Lambert. It was remodelled in 1897-98 by Frank Matcham for Robert Arthur and Henry Moss. It was restored and remodelled in 1976-78 by Renton Howard Wood Levin Partnership and the front elevation and most of the auditorium were kept. It has a stucco front, whilst the rest of the building is built of white tile cladding with metal roofing.
The front is two storeys with a nine window range. It has a Corinthian portico which is five bays with a dentillated cornice.
The interior consists of 1977 foyers, bars, box office and concrete dogleg main stair. The circular auditorium with shallow domed ceiling dates to 1865, and the three cantilever balconies (with their original decoration) date to 1897. The boxes, proscenium and rear screen to the dress circle date to 1977. Some of the original wooden roof structure to the auditorium, with its chandelier winch, has survived.

For a full description please refer to the Listed Buildings System. (1)

Nottingham's Theatre Royal, 1865, was C J Phipps's second theatre commission of which his colonnade of giant Corinthian columns survives. In 1897-8 Frank Matcham removed the three balconies and the boxes of Phipps's auditorium and replaced them by three new cantilevered balconies with improved sight lines and a new stack of boxes flanking the proscenium; the whole richly decorated with Rococo plasterwork. The proscenium, as it existed prior to the reconstruction of 1978, was the result of a redesign by Phipps in 1884 and had been left intact by Matcham. The old proscenium was demolished in 1977 and replaced by the present arrangement of giant Corinthian columns surmounted by a curiously shaped arch springing directly off the capitals. Matcham's distinctive 2nd balcony level boxes and their plasterwork canopies were also at that time removed in favour of the present upper boxes.

For a full description please refer to this source. (2)

The Theatre Royal was originally devised by two Nottingham lace dressers, William and John Lambert, as a 'temple of drama'...a place of "innocent recreation and of moral and intellectual culture". The Theatre RoyaI was completed in 1865 at a cost of £15,000. Its classic facade and Corinthian columns today still dominate Nottingham's skyline.

It was one of the most luxurious theatres of its time providing a venue for music hall, variety, light opera and by the 1920s and 30s Hollywood-style musicals and pantomimes. In the late 1960's the theatre had become run down and it was bought by Nottingham city council in 1969 to be restored.
The Theatre Royal reopened in 1978, providing a 1,186 seat auditorium which was restored in Victorian style green and gilt decor and with upgraded backstage facilities.

In 1898 the Empire Theatre of Varieties opened on the site of the Theatre Royal's old dressing rooms. It was open for 60 years staging a variety of more popular productions which included Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd. It closed in 1958, and was demolished in 1969. However, in 1980-82 the Royal Concert Hall was built on the site of the Empire Theatre providing seating for 2,499 people with an up to date sound and lighting system. The Royal Concert Hall puts on performances of touring orchestras, comedians, dance acts and live music. (3)

The Royal Theatre is Nottingham's last surviving Victorian theatre. It was built by C.J. Phipps, the period's first great theatre designer. In 1895 a site next door was developed by Henry Moss with plans by Frank Matcham, and the Empire Theatre was constructed. Matcham also remodelled the Theatre Royal in 1897-8.
The Royal Theatre was bought by Nottingham City Council in 1969 and restored by Nicholas Thompson and Clare Ferraby of Renton Howard Wood Levin and by Iain Machintosh of Theatre Projects. In 1980-82 the Royal Concert Hall was built on the site of the Empire with elaborate elevations and a Hollywood style to the main stairs and foyers.

For a full description of the site please refer to the source. (4)

SOURCE TEXT

(1) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest

Nottingham 646-1

(2) John Earl and Michael Sell 2000 The Theatres Trust Guide to British Theatres 1750-1950 A Gazetteer

Page(s)172-3

(3) General reference

Royal Centre, Nottingham. 2009. History, [Accessed 06-AUG-2009]

(4) Elain Harwood 2008 Nottingham

The Buildings of England Page(s)134-136

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