Intimate

A two-storey detached Victorian building of Queen Anne Revival style, with imposing brick elevations; the entrance built at the base of the clock-tower which, with cupola and weather-vane, is the dominant feature. The building was erected in 1893 as the School of Science and the Arts. Between the wars it became a swimming pool, and later a skating rink. In 1946 it was converted to a theatre by four ex-servicemen with repertory experience. It would seem the conversion was a fairly make-shift affair due to post-war restrictions on building work. The auditorium floor was raked and seated ‘by a London firm of theatre furnishers’. There was no balcony. The stage was built incorporating a series of electric lifts to enable scene changing, varying floor levels and stairways. There was a workshop and a café. Over the years a laundry, effects room and club room were converted, and later the company ran a drama school. Financial difficulties forced closure in 1957. The building fell into disrepair and was converted to offices in 1984.