 |
 |
|
|
___________________________________________________________________________________________ Scarborough Theatres and Halls Opera House - Aquarium - Theatre Royal - Spa Theatre - Alexandra Music Hall - Capitol Theatre
|
||
|
The Opera House, St Thomas Street, Scarborough
Above - The auditorium of the Scarborough Opera House in 1990 - Courtesy Ted Bottle.
Right - The Stage and Stalls of the Scarborough Opera House in 1990 - Courtesy Ted Bottle. Two years later there was another change of name, this time to the Prince of Wales Circus in 1878, and then in 1900 it was renamed Zalvas Hippodrome. Eight years later and another change of name, this time to the New Hippodrome in 1908.
The Scarborough Opera House was built by Frank Tugwell and until its demolition in 2004 was one of his last remaining buildings in existance. Left - Auditorium of the Opera House, Scarborough in the 1930s, Courtesy The Theatres Trust. The horse shoe shaped auditorium of the Opera House was on three levels with three boxes either side of the proscenium, one of which was in an unusual ash-tray shape. |
||
|
1976 saw a much needed refurbishment of the Theatre and it was re-roofed at the same time. A new bar was also added at the rear of the Theatre at this time too. Sadly this fine Grade II listed Theatre was demolished in 2004 after the auditorium was flooded, and the foyer block ruined after a series of arson attacks. Right - Six 1948 Season Programmes for the Opera House
Scarborough which was being run at the time by the York Repertory Company,
and produced by Geoffrey Staines, who ran two companies at this time
alternating weekly with the York Theatre
Royal. Arthur Lloyd is known to have performed in Scarborough in 1867, 1879, 1886 |
||
|
By PENNY PLAIN From an Opera House Scarborough Programme for December 6th 1948 The appearance of our recently completed new Box, Office, with its added amenities to both patrons, and staff, has caused considerable appreciative comment, but during its construction there were many occasions when both patrons and management felt the work was taking an unconscionable time, especially when, in spite of previous assurances to the contrary, the work progressed throughout the height of our busy season.
|
||
|
The necessity of providing more convenient and additional booking facilities had long been occupying the minds of the administrators of the Opera House, but it was not until the 24th May of this year that the actual work commenced. Prior to this, when making the preliminary survey, our architects found a section of the flooring of both the existing Box Office and the site of the new was seriously affected with dry rot of the fungal type, necessitating the immediate insertion of temporary supports,
As work progressed various cracks in the plaster-work
became apparent, and these were traced to a settlement in the large
During the period of subsidence heavy baulks of timber were inserted to, support the main, central column as the settlement affected the floors above, including the Manager's private flat, so that doors became impossible to close. |
||
|
On the 30th October, the staff were able to conduct business from the new Box Office, and it is hoped that by the time our patrons read this article the foyer will be free of all obstruction. There still remain, of course, various "finishing touches" to be carried out, but the delay in their completion does not seriously detract from the efficient working of the new scheme. Delivery of the grilles for the four Box Office windows is still awaited owing to the shortage of the required materials, which necessitated the order being placed with an outside firm instead of locally, as was originally intended. The provision of the four booking windows has proved a
very useful amenity by assisting those patrons who wish to reserve seats
for other than the current performance. One window is solely for bookings
The completed scheme includes a cloakroom with the necessary counter immediately opposite the Box Office, and a specially designed ladies' toilet suite in the basement. Text from the December 6th 1948 Opera House Scarborough Programme. Advertisements from various 1948 Season Programmes. You may be interested in seeing these images of the Opera House and it's demolition. Arthur Lloyd is known to have performed in Scarborough in 1867, 1879, 1886 |
||
|
The Theatre Royal, Scarborough
Above - The Theatre Royal, Scarborough - From 'The Playgoer' in 1901 - Courtesy Iain Wotherspoon. The Theatre Royal, Scarborough was built around 1771 and when the picture above was taken in 1901 the Theatre was already 130 years old. There was a small article printed along with the image in the Playgoer which reads thus: 'Few theatres existing can boast so historic a dramatic record as the Theatre Royal, Scarborough. The Rev. Thomas Haggitt, a clergyman of the Church of England, built it just one hundred and thirty years ago for Thomas Bates, a celebrated comedian of the day, who controlled it for about forty years, when it was purchased by Stephen Kemble (brother of Mrs.Siddons), since which time nearly every popular actor and actress have appeared on its boards. The house is now owned by Mrs. Ilenry Mayhew, who has in Mr. F. P. Morgan a capable, courteous, and most enterprising manager.' Text and image from 'The Playgoer' in 1901 - Courtesy Iain Wotherspoon. Arthur Lloyd is known to have performed in Scarborough in 1867, 1879, 1886 If you have any more information on this Theatre, or images you are willing to share please Contact me here... |
||
|
Above - Photograph of the Auditorium and Stage of the Spa Theatre, Scarborough in 1990 - Courtesy Ted Bottle
Above Left - The Spa Complex, Scarborough - From a Postcard - and Above Right - A Programme for the 1958 season at The Spa Theatre, Scarborough.
Above - Photograph of the Auditorium and Stage of the Spa Theatre, Scarborough in 1990 - Courtesy Ted Bottle
Above - Photograph of the Auditorium from the Stage of the Spa Theatre, Scarborough in 1990 - Courtesy Ted Bottle Ted Bottle, whose photographs of the Spa Theatre are shown on this page writes: 'The Scarborough Spa Theatre is a most delightful place - very intimate building designed by Verity and Hunt with an ornate frieze above the proscenium. Note the footlights, a forbidden word in the theatre business but I liked them. They added warmth and an air of mystery when played on the tabs. Like many other theatres it is reputed to be haunted. At the evening performance prior to my photographic visit, someone in the audience was rather upset by the appearance of someone not of this world, so the management told me.' Ted Bottle. The Spa Grand Hall has 1800 seats and is also sometimes used for Theatrical presentations. Arthur Lloyd is known to have performed in Scarborough 1867, 1879, 1886 |
||
|
The Alexandra Music Hall, Aberdeen Walk, Scarborough
The exterior consisted of five tall arched windows on the first two levels and a small attic level above with five square windows. There was a wide ornate staircase leading from the left side of the ground floor entrance to the auditorium which was situated on the first and second floor of the building and had one horseshoe shaped balcony which was supported by cast iron columns and had three rows of seating down each side of the auditorium and eight at the rear, neither level was raked and the auditorium was much like many music halls of the period such as Wiltons, or the Britannia, Glasgow. In 1998 the owners applied for demolition of the building which by then was in a very sorry state. The Theatres Trust along with English Heritage were alerted to the situation and the Hall was hastily Spot Listed Grade II but this didn't stop furthur applications for demolition in September of the same year. The Theatres Trust were allowed by the owners to make an inspection of the building but only if they kept their finding quiet until the proposed development was completed. This strange and sorry tale is recorded here. The above information was gleaned
from the Theatres Trust Guide but if you have any more information
on this building, or images you are willing to share please Contact
me here... Arthur Lloyd is known to have performed in Scarborough in 1867, 1879, 1886 and it is very likely that he appeared at the Alexandra Music Hall but so far I haven't been able to find any proof of this. |
||
|
The Capitol Cine-Variety Theatre, Ablemarle Crescent, Scarborough The Grade II Listed Capitol Theatre on Albermarle Cresent, Scarborough opened on the 11th of March 1929 with a showing of the 1927 silent film 'The Garden of Allah.' Indeed the Theatre opened just before the introduction of sound to early cinema. The Theatre was built as a large Cine-Variety Theatre and had a large stage with fly tower and an orchestra pit, and dressing rooms for artists but was very rarely used for live productions. For most of its life it has been used almost exclusively as a Cinema. The auditorium has a single balcony and a recessed proscenium designed in the Classical style with a Greek / Roman frieze above. If you have any more information on this Theatre, or images you are willing to share please Contact me here... |
||
|
The Aquarium, Scarborough was built by Eugenius Birch, in 1877 and was demolished in 1968. The following text is courtesy Lynn Pearson from her book 'The People's Palaces, Britain's Seaside Pleasure Buildings' 1870-1914: 'Birch moved on to design the exotic Indo-Moorish Scarborough Aquarium, which cost £111,000 and opened on Whit Monday 1877. Unlike the Brighton Aquarium, which still exists (though much altered), almost nothing is left of the Scarborough Aquarium, which was sited beneath the Valley Bridge. It covered 2 ¼ acres, was lit by 1,600 gas jets and had a wildly extravagant interior, with long vistas of Moorish arches and much of the decoration based on that of Hindu temples, notably Binderabund, which Birch had used as a model for his Blackpool North Pier Indian Pavilion of 1874. At 36 ft square, one of the tanks was the largest in the world and held 300 tons of water; it was sometimes used for swimming exhibitions. The Aquarium buildings included a concert hall, reading room, dining room and fernery and, with its Japanese theatre and villages, the whole was something of a 19th century theme park. Red, buff and black encaustic tiles with a central hawthorn blossom pattern ornamented the dados, while those used on the floor were patterned with shells, seaweed, starfish and dolphins. Amid this colourful mass of international motifs, English pastoral scenes in oils were intended to add light and interest to the concert hall... ...Despite Birch’s reputation, the Scarborough Aquarium was not a financial success, and it was sold in 1886 to the manager of Blackpool Winter Gardens, William Morgan, for £5,150. Morgan’s policy of charging 6d admission for an entire day’s entertainment made the Aquarium briefly successful. A swimming bath was added in 1893, a theatre in 1907 and a skating rink in 1909, but the crowds stayed away; by 1914 the Aquarium was in the hands of liquidators. Scarborough Council ran the buildings as Galaland between 1925 and 1966, but demolition, and the loss of one of the best of the seaside pleasure palaces, came a few years later..' Above text in quotes is courtesy Lynn Pearson from her book 'The People's Palaces, Britain's Seaside Pleasure Buildings' 1870-1914. Arthur Lloyd is known to have performed at the Aquarium, Scarborough in 1886 |
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
The
Theatre which until recently stood in St. Thomas Street, Scarborough
and was sadly demolished in 2004, was known to all as the Scarborough
Opera House, but what may be less well known is that it was built on
the site of a former wooden circus building called Charles Adnam's Grand
Circus. This Wooden Circus was built by John Petch in 
In
In
1948 the Box Office was rebuilt and this simple task didn't go quite
as smoothly as was predicted, you can read more about this in the 
On
wider examination the space below was found to be an old cellar which
had, at some previous date, been partially filled with clay and rubble.
To complete the required excavation about 54 tons of such material were
removed. Water seepage, which had for a long time been a matter of some
concern and believed to originate from underground springs situated
some distance behind the Opera House, proved to amount to a depth of
1 inch following heavy rains. This discovery necessitated the provision
of a special drainage system.
wooden
beam extending across the display window. It was found that the weight
of the main front elevation resting on this beam was crushing its supporting
walls. To deal with this satisfactorily the whole of the front was demolished
and a complete new window installed which will, in due course, be faced
in clack vitrolite with chromium-plated steel windows in the plinth.
As
can be appreciated, the tracing of these additional defects and effecting
their remedy involved additional time, but are really believed to have
been a blessing in disguise as serious consequences might have developed
had they remained undiscovered much longer.
during
the early part of the week, the second for Permanent Seatholders, the
third for reservations during the second half of the week, and the fourth
is used exclusively by Upper Circle patrons, for whose added convenience
a new ticket machine has been installed.
The
Scarborough Spa Theatre was built in 
