Globe

A former racquets court of 1788, which was permanently converted into a theatre in 1831, and enlarged in 1887. The part covered by the present stage was once a hay loft. The auditorium is Neo-Classical in character suggesting the Regency rather than the mid-Victorian period. There is a single horseshoe gallery supported on slender iron columns which continue up to the ceiling. On each side of the well-proportioned rectangular proscenium arch are false proscenium doors, set between engaged square Tuscan columns, reminiscent of the theatres of William Wilkins (e.g. Bury St Edmunds). In 1928 new exits were introduced which reduced the seating capacity to 250 (in the 1880s it had been 600-700). The building was overhauled and re-decorated in 1971. It is now used by Marines and local amateur groups, as well as for cinema. The famous ‘thunder run’ is still in situ. The theatre is of particular significance as a rare example of its kind and period. In January 2017 the stage area was declared unsafe.