Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton
| Address | Lichfield Street Wolverhampton United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Owner | Wolverhampton City Council |
| Operator | Wolverhampton Grand Theatre (1982) Ltd |
| Capacity | 1200 |
| Current use | Musicals, Pantomime, Opera, Ballet, and Plays |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1894 |
| Reopened | 1982 |
| Rebuilt | Refurbished 1998 |
| Architect | C J Phipps |
| Website | |
| www.GrandTheatre.co.uk | |
The Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, commonly known as The Grand , is a theatre located in Lichfield Street, Wolverhampton,UK, designed in 1894 by Architect Charles J. Phipps. It is a Grade II Listed Building with a seating capacity of 1200.
The Grand Theatre opened on 10 December 1894. It was not Wolverhampton's first theatre but has outlasted its rivals, including The Star Theatre, later known as the Theatre Royal, also Clifton Cinema in Bilston Street, The Empire Palace, and later The Hippodrome in Queen Square which was destroyed by fire in the 1950s.
The site chosen for the new building was to replace the decaying eyesore next to the Victoria Hotel, later the Britannia Hotel, in Lichfield Street, then as now, a major thoroughfare close to the city centre. The driving force behind the theatre in these early stages was Alderman Charles Tertius Mander, Mayor of Wolverhampton.
The theatre was designed by eminent theatre architect Charles J. Phipps and incorporated four shops, two on either side of the main entrance, on its 123-foot frontage. Wolverhampton builder Henry Gough was appointed to carry out the construction work, which cost at that time an estimated £10,000. Astonishingly the theatre was completed in less than six months, from the laying of foundation stone by Mrs C.T. Mander on 28 June 1894 to the grand opening on 10 December 1894. The façade of the building has hardly altered during its two major refurbishments.
The seating capacity in 1894 was a staggering 2151. In the nineteenth century, seating in the auditorium was segregated by class, with the Dress Circle reserved for the gentry. For those "ordinary" people lucky enough to get in, they watched from the gallery where seats could not be booked in advance. The interior was overwhelming with its predominant colours of cream and claret and the ornate ceiling plasterwork. The decorations adorning the box and circle fronts and proscenium arch were painted gold. The theatre, with the exception of the stage, was lit by electricity.
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