Intimate (High Wycombe)

• Theatre ID
  1538
• Built / Converted
  1946
• Dates of use
  • 1946 - 1957
• Current state
  Fragmental remains
• Current use
  converted to other use (Clock House, offices)
• Address
  The Tower, Frogmore, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England

Details

A two-storey detached Victorian building of Queen Anne Revival style, with imposing brick elevations; the entrance built at the base of the clock-tower which, with cupola and weather-vane, is the dominant feature. The building was erected in 1893 as the School of Science and the Arts. Between the wars it became a swimming pool, and later a skating rink. In 1946 it was converted to a theatre by four ex-servicemen with repertory experience. It would seem the conversion was a fairly make-shift affair due to post-war restrictions on building work. The auditorium floor was raked and seated ‘by a London firm of theatre furnishers’. There was no balcony. The stage was built incorporating a series of electric lifts to enable scene changing, varying floor levels and stairways. There was a workshop and a café Over the years a laundry, effects room and club room were converted, and later the company ran a drama school. Financial difficulties forced closure in 1957. The building fell into disrepair and was converted to offices in 1984.

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• Events
  • 1946 - 1957 Use:
  • 1893 Design/Construction: School of Science & the Arts
    • Unknown - Architect
  • 1946 Alteration: converted to theatre
    • Jack Stone (builder) - Architect
  • 1984 Alteration: rebuilt internally as offices
    • Geoffrey Hawkins (for Crest Estates) - Architect
  • Owner/Management: G L Pitcher, owner
  • 1946 Owner/Management: High Wycombe Repertory Co, lessees
• Capacities
  • Original: 1946: 300
• Listings
  • Grade Not listed