Assembly Rooms

Built by J G Browning, who had built the house next door, the theatre opened as the Music Hall. It became the Whitstable Institute for Promotion of Literature, Science and Art, a multi-purpose room, inscribed as THEATRE AND ASSEMBLY ROOMS on the façade. Two storey building with arched roof; single bay with entrance at one side and two round-headed mullioned windows at first floor and oeil-de-boeuf window above in semi-circular gable. It had a balcony, but no further interior description has been found. It was later enlarged by taking in the site of Mr Browning’s house and a property the other side, and was used by the Whitstable UDC when it was formed in 1894. About 1909 films were shown briefly. In c.1920, the interior was subdivided, converting the first floor to a dance hall, leaving the hall underneath to a variety of uses, and as a club during World War II. It suffered bomb damage in 1940. Pop concerts were held from 1950-60. From 1960 the lower level was used as a supermarket for a decade, moving the entertainment to the hall above. From 1987 the building was in use as a community support centre. This was demolished in 2002. The building on the site of the former Assembly Rooms Theatre is called the Horsebridge Centre, built in 2004, as an arts and community centre for the town.