King's

Opened as Albert Hall with stalls and balcony. Ballroom attached. After a series of improvements it was gutted by fire in 1927, reopening as a theatre in the same year. Stage removed about 1988.

Three bay gabled façade with a cheerful mixture of classical details, facing Trinity Street. The central bay is set forward and framed by superimposed orders of coupled columns supporting an open segmental pediment at the apex of the gable, above which is a pedestal carrying a lion. Within the pediment tympanum is an oeil-de-boeuf. Brick flank wall of nine bays divided by piers. Next to the stage, right end, is a long low building, now the Liberal Club, but which could have been the original Ballroom of 1885.

Internally the ground floor has been levelled throughout. There is a deep ‘U’ shaped balcony supported by iron pillars, which may be a survivor of the 1927 fire. The ceiling is barrel vaulted with Greek key guilloche on the longitudinal and cross beams. The original position of the stage is clearly visible. The grid is hidden from view. There is no external fly tower.