Grand Theatre, Church Street Blackpool

The Grand Theatre was built for Thomas Sergenson as a drama theatre and opened on 23 July 1894 having a capacity of approximately 1200. The Blackpool Herald of July 1894 “Blackpool is now provided with two of the finest theatres in the kingdom. Cost £20,000. Brick with stone dressings, relatively plain except at the entrance at the junction with Corporation Street. Ornate stone entrance of stone two storeys high with arched doorways and windows flanked by pilasters. The attic storey is crowned by a dome, clad in copper fish-scale tiles, which rises from behind curly gables. The real importance of the theatre, however, lies in its magnificent auditorium. Few other examples can so well illustrate the vibrant exuberance and intensely theatrical atmosphere of Victorian theatre architecture at its best. The superb plasterwork was carried out by the Plastic Decoration Company of London.  Three balconies, of six rows each, sweep around towards the stage in a double curve, dipping downwards along the side walls, with the number of rows progressively reducing. The balcony fronts are thickly encrusted with deeply cut Baroque plasterwork. The device of reversing the curve of a balcony at the ends enabled Matcham to bring the side seats closer to the stage without impairing sight lines. In this respect he was more successful than C.J. Phipps, whose balconies more often followed a traditional horseshoe plan which, when applied to several rows of seats rather than to rings of boxes, inevitably gave rise to problems with sight-lines at the sides.

The balconies at Blackpool are partly cantilevered and partly supported on iron columns. In Matcham's later theatres, when the use of cantilevers had developed, it was possible for balconies to become deeper, with their fronts consequently closer to the stage. In order to maintain good sight-lines it was necessary to reduce the curve of the balcony. Although this allowed larger seating capacities without increasing the volume of the auditorium, it proved detrimental to theatrical atmosphere. At Blackpool the balconies are terminated on each side by an oriel like stage box at dress circle level. These have splendid canopies which rise up above the gallery front and are crowned by curved pediments which support three cavorting cupids. The proscenium opening has an imposing round arched frame with openwork plaster 'frills'. The spandrels of the arch contain large paintings of the muses. The oval ceiling is opulently decorated with painted panels of composers by Messrs Binns of Halifax.

The Grand closed as a theatre in 1972. In August 1973, the then owners were refused permission for its demolition following a public inquiry. Interior refurbished in 1977.