West Cliff Theatre
Low-built with no fly tower; hipped mansard roof behind a single storey frontage building with stucco ornamented entrance. The auditorium is a big, rectangular single-raked space.
Opened in the same year as the Ocean Theatre on the pier, it replaced a temporary building on the same site. Initially the building was used only in the summer, but it opened all year round from 1934. A fire in a loft in 1950 destroyed the grid and stage furnishings. When Clacton UDC purchased the building, the floor was re-concreted, and the stage extended over the orchestra pit. From 1989, the theatre again became an all-year-round venue.
Built / Converted
1928
Dates of use
- 1928 : continuing
Current state
Extant
Current use
Theatre
Address
Tower Road, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, CO15 1LE, England
Website-
Further details
Other names
-
Events
- 1894 Design/Construction:Unknown- Architect
- 1928 Use: continuing
- 1928 Alteration: rebuiltG W Gould- Architect
- 1928 Owner/Management: Bert Graham & Will Bentley
- 1934 Owner/Management: Will Hammer’s Entertainments Ltd
- 1958 Owner/Management: Following Will Hammer’s death in 1957, Clacton UDC purchased the building (Now Tendring DC)
- 1985 Owner/Management: West Cliff (Tendring Trust)
Capacities
- CapacityOriginalDescription800
- CapacityCurrentDescription590
Listings
- ListingNot listed
Stage type
Rake (3 degrees) Open thrust available
Building dimensions: -
Stage dimensions: Depth: 6.40 (21ft) Width SL: 6.7m (22ft) SR: 6.7m (22ft)
Proscenium width: 8.5m (28ft)
Height to grid: -
Inside proscenium: -
Orchestra pit: Original 12. 1994: Pit accomm 3; additional accom