Albert Hall

A big and once impressive public building occupying a corner site at the junction of Craddock and Mansel Streets. The long flank to Mansel Street is faced with squared, coursed rubble stonework. The main facade, in Craddock Street, falls into two, unequal sections, three storeys high, the whole lightly disguised by a thin classical veneer. The right hand, smaller section was not originally part of the hall but was acquired to provide extended lobby facilities and a grand staircase. There was once a massive stone porch extending out over the pavement but this has long since been demolished.

The hall originally had two balconies but there is now only one, with long slips running down each side wall and a strange eccentric projection to the left of centre where the cine-projector was situated in former times. The proscenium and the original shallow stage have been removed. A scheme to reseat the auditorium has been promoted.

Probably always a public hall and concert hall rather than a theatre, but it was licensed by 1910 for music and dancing and kinematograph shows.