Empire

This building opened as a skating rink but was designed so that it could be readily converted into a variety theatre, which it became in 1910. Accommodation included stalls, end balcony, circle and boxes. It is thought to have closed c.1917. By 1948 it was in use as a factory.

The premises, although owned by one person, are now operated on two separate and distinct levels; the ground floor being a snooker hall and the upper a nightclub.

There is little within the shell of the theatre to suggest its former use although it is likely that the offices and access stairway at the front of the building are original. The stage side of the proscenium wall now houses three substantial mezzanine floors the middle one being a lounge to the nightclub. Above this is a storage level from which the brick arch in the proscenium wall is visible. The proscenium pillars remain either side.

As now seen, the building has an undistinguished brick and terra cotta façade of three storeys with a triangular central pediment enclosing a subsidiary serpentine pediment. It has undergone many changes since it closed as a venue for entertainment. The present squat fly tower, which extends approximately eight feet above the main roof, would suggest that full flying of scenery was not possible. There is nothing in the present stage roof to suggest the existence of a grid. The roof lights probably date from the days when it operated as a factory.