Grand

The Grand might have been a better choice than the Palace for a civic theatre, but it now seems unlikely to return to live use.

Built as a touring house in 1906, it was rebuilt internally in 1928 when a three-storey dressing room wing was added. It became a cinema soon after this and has since been tripled. Its undistinguished exterior is largely original but the façade has had metal cladding applied in a dreary ‘modern’ style. The interior has been divided horizontally by a permanent floor separating stalls from circle. The 1928 proscenium arch is visible behind the cinema screen. Stage house about 12.2m (40ft) deep and 18.25m (60ft) high externally.

Cinema use ceased in 1997 with the opening of the new ABC multiplex. The Grand then became a snooker hall and, in 2013, a church.