Civic Halls

Traditional theatre to modern standards is well provided for in Wolverhampton at the Grand. The Civic Halls require inclusion only insofar as they are used from time to time for some kinds of dramatic productions.

The building contains two halls, the larger being the Civic and the smaller the Wulfrun. The Lyons & Israel design has a tightly disciplined geometry with deceptively simple massing of plain blocks with sparse external ornament apart from a portico in antis with attenuated proto-Ionic columns. The capitals are wonderfully mannered, looking like buffalo horns. The original internal detailing of the two halls and their foyers and main corridors has been surprisingly little eroded over the last sixty years.

Hope Bagenal was consultant for the two halls which were regarded as having fine natural acoustics. The larger was designed mainly for choral and orchestral concerts, the smaller (which has a proscenium stage) for chamber music with some theatrical presentations and film shows. Demands have changed in recent years, with a greater emphasis on popular music and a need for amplification. Major concerts also call for a greater capacity than can be provided by the Civic Hall.

Current proposals (1997-8) envisage extensive improvements, including an added upper balcony in the Civic Hall, adjustments to both halls to solve changed acoustic requirements, additions to accommodate improved foyer and bar spaces and internal restoration of architectural detail.

The proposed alterations and additions are ingeniously designed to be absorbed by the existing internal and external architecture. The most noticeable change, the long glazed addition at upper level on the flank, is handled with sensitivity.