Music Hall (Shrewsbury)

• Theatre ID
  1195
• Built / Converted
  1840
• Current state
  Extant
• Current use
  Theatre
• Address
  The Square, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1 1LH, England
• Website
  • http://www.musichall.co.uk

Details

Classical front and rear elevations; that facing the Square is stone-faced with entrance in the centre. On either side are windows fronting a restaurant and Tourist Information Office. Above is a giant pedimented portico with attached Ionic columns. The rear wall, in College Hill, was once the main entrance: the ground floor here corresponds to first floor at the opposite end owing to the difference in ground heights. There are two doorways leading to the stage and a third which is bricked up. A giant order of six pilasters with a moulded wreath in each intervening space unites the upper floors. Only two long windows appear in this side. On the ground floor is a small cinema seating 100. The Music Hall is a long, flat floored room with pilastered walls. The proscenium is curtained. Entrances are alongside a retractable bleacher seating unit. Three rows of seats are placed on the flat floor, 15 on the bleacher unit, and the remaining five on a fixed balcony. Behind the stage is a crossover. The forestage is 2.4m (8ft) deep, within which are covers which can be lifted to reveal an orchestra pit. The Music Hall is not the most suitable venue for the presentation of professional theatre, as the seating capacity is small and the stage and orchestra facilities are inadequate. Some of the internal alterations made in the last 30 years have lacked architectural distinction. A newly designed performance venue is being built (2007) in Shrewsbury and once complete, the Music Hall will be adapted to new use, making the oldest architectural features available to the public. Update to follow.

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• Events
  • 1840 Design/Construction:
    • Edward Haycock the Elder - Architect
  • 1980 Alteration: fire escape erected
    • Unknown - Architect
  • 1981 Alteration: new entrance constructed
    • Unknown - Architect
  • 1984 Alteration: old balcony demolished; stage relocated; pilasters repaired and new added
    • Unknown - Architect
  • 1986 Alteration: various alterations
    • Unknown - Architect
  • 1995 Owner/Management: Shrewsbury & Atcham BC, owners
• Capacities
  • Current: 398
• Listings
  • Grade II
• Stage type
  • Limited pros. Flat
• Dimensions
  • Stage dimensions: Depth: 22ft Width: 42ft
  • Proscenium width: 28ft
  • Height to grid: 37ft