The Lantern Theatre

Built in 1893 by William Webster, a cutlery manufacturer who had built a house in Priory Road in 1889, on an additional adjacent plot of land, as a private theatre. It opened as the Chalet theatre, so named after the building's chalet-style appearance. Entrance facade of brick with double entrance doors, and above a gable with bargeboards and timber-set oriel window. Pyramidal roof with octagonal wooden lantern with dome and finial over the stage end, after which the theatre took its later name. The auditorium is original with coved ceiling and moulded round-cornered proscenium arch with foliage band and crest. Small balcony with later panelled front and wooden winder stair. Stage-house with lean-to space now extended and a coffee bar added, together with larger exit doors and stage door. The building remained a private theatre until 1956, although disused for over a decade. It was restored and slightly modernised opening as the Lantern Theatre in 1957, and is still in use as an amateur theatre.