Skip to main content

Darlington Hippodrome

1549

When built, this theatre curiously carried two names - Hippodrome on the Borough Road frontage and Palace Theatre on the Parkgate/Borough Road corner. It became the Civic Theatre in 1966, having been acquired by the local authority some years earlier. The principal front is practically as built, red brick with terra cotta dressings in a carefree Baroque manner, the entrance pavilion symmetrical, with Ionic pilasters at first floor level, carrying a scrolly gable and semi-circular lunette with exaggerated voussoirs. Over the gable, a pyramidal roof with iron cresting. At the rear, the 1990s extensions are in plain brick with light brick dressings and a corner tower, like a bastion. The auditorium has two balconies with delicate plaster ornament and a single pedimented box on either side at first balcony level. Circular ceiling set in a square with elaborate plaster ornament in the corners. Rectangular proscenium with a thin spirally enriched roll moulding and a central cartouche. Ante-proscenium walls and above the proscenium decorated with wide bolection mouldings in a square panelled design. The reopening of the long-isolated gallery and the extensions greatly improved this well preserved theatre. A £4.5m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has been received as part of a £11.7m restoration and refurbishment project that will result in a new entrance, promenade gallery and vaulted function room in the former water tower. There will be increased seating capacity and better disabled access together with improved back stage facilities for touring companies that will enable larger shows to be accommodated. The theatre closed in May 2016 for building works to begin and will reopen in autumn 2017 under the name Darlington Hippodrome. A further £1.5m grant has been awarded by Arts Council England (ACE) to Theatre Hullabaloo to support a £2.9m project to create an adjacent flagship 150 seat children’s studio theatre venue, The Hullaballoon.

Built / Converted
1907
Dates of use
  • 1966 : continuing
Current state
Extant
Current use
Theatre
Address
Parkgate, Darlington, Durham, DL1 1RR, England
Further details
Other names
Darlington Civic Theatre , New Hippodrome , Hippodrome , Palace Theatre
Events
  • 1907 Design/Construction: built under the supervision of G F Ward of Owen & Ward.
    G Gordon Hoskins
    - Architect
    Dean & Sons (Birmingham)
    - Consultant
    decoration
  • 1907 - 1928 Owner/Management: New Hippodrome & Palace of Varieties, proprietors
  • 1916 Owner/Management: Hippodrome (Darlington) Ltd, owners
  • 1934 - 1956 Owner/Management: Stanley Rogers cinemas/Hinge Productions Ltd, lessees
  • 1958 Owner/Management: Darlington Civic Theatre Ltd, lessees
  • 1964 Owner/Management: Darlington Corporation, owners
  • 1966 Use: continuing
  • 1990 Alteration: major extension; gallery restored to use (architect unknown).
  • 1994 Alteration: conservatory bar added at stalls level (architect unknown).
  • 2016 - 2017 Alteration: Restoration and Refurbishment
Capacities
  • Capacity
    Original
    Description
    1210
  • Capacity
    Later
    Description
    1924: 1471
    1956: 1159
    1970: 601
  • Capacity
    Current
    Description
    901
Listings
  • Listing
    II
Stage type
Proscenium Rake 1:24
Building dimensions: -
Stage dimensions: Depth: 9.8m (32ft)
Proscenium width: 8.63m (28ft 6in)
Height to grid: 13.7m (45ft)
Inside proscenium: -
Orchestra pit: -