Hippodrome (Opera House)

• Theatre ID
  584
• Built / Converted
  1895
• Dates of use
  • 1895 - 1982
• Current state
  Extant
• Current use
  converted to other use (Nightclub)
• Address
  The Royal Arcade, Christchurch Road, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, England

Details

Opened as the Grand Pavilion Theatre, renamed Hippodrome in c.1910. Built as part of a development including the spacious Boscombe Arcade (intact) and Salisbury Hotel. The theatre front, in brick with stone dressings, is subservient to that of the arcade, and difficult to identify separately from the shops and former hotel on either side. It consists basically of three, very tall, mullioned and transomed windows each surmounted by a Flemish gable. The auditorium is most unusual and interesting, with the character of an early music hall. Above the flat main floor is a shallow balcony carried on iron columns with a semi-circular end and straight side arms and an openwork iron balustrade incorporating acanthus leaf decoration. Tall, slender iron columns rise from the front edge of the balcony to support a curved ceiling and lateral arcade, with florid openwork spandrel decoration. A wide promenade runs around the rear of the balcony,above which, carried on a further ring of columns, is a second, shallower balcony set back behind the arcade. The galleries originally ran straight up to the proscenium wall, but in 1910 a range of paired boxes was put in either side, flanked by giant composite columns and decorated with Baroque plasterwork. At the same time the proscenium was reconstructed - a tall plaster frame, straight-headed with rounded corners. Proscenium 26ft, stage depth 37ft, grid approximately 50ft. In December 1982 it reopened as The Academy night club. The floor is now flat but the stage and flying facilities remain in place. Concern is felt over redevelopment of adjacent land which might affect get-in arrangements. Apart from some fittings used in connection with the present purpose, the auditorium and stage are intact and could be restored to theatrical use. By present standards it would seat approximately 800. The style of entertainment is more that of floor-show/ night club style, also alternative revue. Sources say that help was enlisted from students from the Bournemouth College to restore the interior, and so it was freed from the Mecca purple, and sympathetically painted inside.

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• Other names
  The Boscombe Grand Pavilion Theatre, The Boscombe Hippodrome, The Royal Ballroom, The Academy
• Events
  • 1895 - 1982 Use:
  • 1895 Design/Construction:
    • Lawson & Donkin - Architect
  • 1910 Alteration: paired boxes created on both sides of proscenium which was reconstructed
    • Unknown - Architect
  • 1982 Alteration: flat floor inserted for nightclub use
    • Unknown - Architect
  • 1895 - 1898 Owner/Management: Archibald Beckett, Town Councillor, owner
  • 1898 - 1900 Owner/Management: Adrian Hill & Robert Ayrton
  • 1900 - 1908 Owner/Management: Morell & Mouillot
  • 1908 Owner/Management: Until when not known. The South of England Hippodrome Company
  • 1930 - 1939 Owner/Management: Gaumont British
  • 1960 - 1969 Owner/Management: Mecca
  • 1980 Owner/Management: s-present Academy Enterprises Ltd
  • Owner/Management: (Freeholders Butterworth family)
  • Owner/Management: currently: Richard Carr
• Capacities
  • Original: 2000
• Listings
  • Grade II
• Stage type
  • Pros flat
• Dimensions
  • Stage dimensions: Depth: 11.28m Wing Width SL: .91m SR: .91m
  • Proscenium width: 8.43m x 5.18m
  • Height to grid: 12.2m
  • Orchestra pit: Original. Dressing rooms 2 for 20. One star dressi