Haymarket

In 1865 a Corn Exchange was opened in Wote Street. The Basingstoke Fire Department kept their fire engine in the basement from 1890. By 1910 it was used as a roller skating rink. It was reopened in 1913 as a cine-variety house with a raked floor and a stage. It was then known as the Grand. A fire devastated the building in 1925, following which it was restored, with the interior remodelled as a theatre. The Town Council repaired and redecorated the building in 1940, adding a small foyer and bar at the back of the hall. In the following years a repertory company was established and the theatre was also used by touring companies. Extensive renovation was completed in 1993. The old Corn Exchange has been transformed into a lively and intimate theatre. The accommodation within the Exchange was demolished, including the roof over the stage and the main entrance stair. The stage was deepened by moving the proscenium wall forward, widened on stage right by extending into the Haymarket Yard and heightened with a new box-shaped flying loft breaking through the original pitched roof. The stage house has an enlarged acting area with modern suspension structure. An elevator provides a forestage extension, an additional two rows of stalls seating or an orchestra pit, and, at its lowest level, a goods elevator to get in heavy scenery. The iron curtain is in two halves, with a painted view of Basingstoke. The original internal elevations of the Corn Exchange have been left intact, the new balcony being supported on an independent steel structure. The walls in the auditorium with their classical pilasters, cornice and round-arched windows, have been restored.

The main elevation is in seven bays with big windows. The frontage to the street has taken in the Lesser Market’s three shop fronts, and the resident scenic designer has painted a mural on the Corn Exchange facade to depict the history of the building.

The get-in is difficult; the dock doors being 3.5m (11ft 6in) above the Haymarket Yard which approaches at a steep gradient.