Jellicoe Theatre (i)

The building in which the Jellicoe Theatre was housed was a red brick, single storey building with the appearance of a small school. It opened in 1936 as the Jellicoe Hall, a multi-purpose hall for entertainment and for gymnastics serving the Barnardo’s home and affiliated Watts Naval School, a sea-training school for older boys. The complex was taken over in the early 1960s by Bournemouth and Poole College for further education and housed the music and drama departments. The hall was converted to a theatre in 1964. The appearance of the single storey hall remained unaltered, except for the insertion of a platform stage and a sound and lighting control room at the rear. A retractable seating unit was used to seat the audience and a stage apron could be added with rostra. Two dressing rooms and a green room completed the facilities. The building was sold to Borough of Poole and closed in July 2015. Bournemouth and Poole College opened the new Jellicoe Theatre in North Road later that year.