Theatre Royal (Merthyr Tydfil)

• Theatre ID
  1303
• Built / Converted
  1891
• Current state
  Extant
• Current use
  Bingo
• Address
  Pantmorlais, Penydarren Road, Merthyr Tydfil, Mid Glamorgan, Wales

Details

Set into a sloping site opposite Penydarren Park, the main building appears heavy and inelegant, mainly due to unsympathetic alteration. There is a lower block attached to the right. The main block has a 5-bay rendered brick façe of two storeys, plus a blind attic over. The original ground floor arrangement of seven arched doors, grouped 2+3+2, has had its symmetry upset by the insertion of a wider entrance in place of the left hand pair. The centre door retains its segmental pediment hood but the crowning cornice and parapet together with the tall central pediment have all been demolished. The prominent inscription THEATRE ROYAL remains over the first floor centre. There is a corrugated iron fly tower. The block to the right, Thespian House, originally had an interesting architectural treatment, domestic in scale but with a heavily crenellated parapet. The right hand end was recessed with a canted bay and this is the only remaining evidence of the original character of what is now a virtually featureless front. The auditorium dates from the late 1920s, though the ceiling is suspected of being earlier. It is an excellent example of its time with a single balcony, Art Deco ornament, proscenium with stepped surround and flanking organ pipe niches.

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• Other names
  Theatre Royal and Thespian House
• Events
  • 1891 Design/Construction:
    • T C Wakeling (Merthyr) - Architect
  • 1920 - 1929 Alteration: auditorium rebuilt, balcony inserted
    • Unknown - Architect
  • 1982 Alteration: converted to bingo
    • Unknown - Architect
  • Owner/Management:
• Capacities
  • Later: 1951: 1217
• Listings
  • Grade II
• Dimensions
  • Stage dimensions: Depth: 22ft
  • Proscenium width: 28ft