Description

SD 33 NW BLACKPOOL CHURCH STREET

2/5 Grand Theatre
26.1.1972
II*

Theatre, 1894, by Frank Matcham. Stone corner-entrance block of 3 storeys
in flamboyant free Baroque, with drum and dome: 3-sided canted facade with
round-arched entrances at ground floor; upper storeys have giant pilasters
flanking windows which are paired at each side with bullseye above,
Venetian in the centre; attic storey of scrolled gables with finials each
side; stone drum with paired classical pilasters and domed roof of copper
fish-scale tiles, surmounted by cupola, rises through the centre.
Interior: auditorium of 3 balconies, cantilevered and double-curved;
semicircular proscenium arch flanked by corbelled curved boxes under
semicircular arches, richly crested with pediments and putti; oval ceiling.
Fibrous plaster decoration in very ornate Baroque style, gilded and painted:
fronts of boxes freely ornamented with cherubs, putti, swags, etc., and
painted panels. Pendentives each side of proscenium arch have large oval
panels with paintings of muses. Ceiling carries 2 heavily-moulded circular
bosses supporting chandeliers, surrounded by 6 large panels painted with
portrait medallions, nymphs, putti, garlands, etc.; all enclosed by coved
cornice. Dress circle level has ironwork staircase head, and wood-
panelled bar with stained glass windows. The whole building, ingeniously
providing much accommodation on a small site, was completed in 7 months
from December 1893 to July 1894.

Listing NGR: SD3074936175

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Grand Theatre at Wikipedia
• Grand Theatre official website
• Wikidata Q5595139

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)