Prince Of Wales (Cardiff)

• Theatre ID
  69
• Built / Converted
  1878
• Dates of use
  • 1878: Until when not known.
• Current state
  Extant
• Current use
  Licensed premises (Pub)
• Address
  Wood Street & St Mary Street, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales

Details

Opened as the New Theatre Royal. A good, three storeyed, Gothic, painted façe to Wood Street - traceried windows, canopied niches etc. Later entrance now around the corner in St Mary Street, (adjacent to the Philharmonic Hall) where one bay of the shop buildings, originally reflecting the Gothic style of the theatre, was rebuilt in Greek Revival style - giant columns in-antis above the ground floor linked by a triangular pediment, open below and having a square headed niche containing a statue. The auditorium was reconstructed in 1920 in the same distinctive Greek style. Three straight balconies with slips, imposing proscenium flanked by giant fluted Ionic columns carrying a big triangular pediment (open below as at entrance) with a bas-relief Grecian frieze above. Flat panelled and coffered ceiling. This interior was, for all practical purposes, obliterated after 1987, following the grant (on appeal) of consent to multiple uses which made radical changes inevitable and a return to theatre use a distant prospect. Such architectural benefits as followed from the new occupation were all external. The three separate street façes were stripped of old advertisement hoardings and the stonework cleaned and repaired. The rose window, high in the the Great Western Lane façe, was reopened and reglazed. The roof was reslated with decorative ridge tiles and the haystack above the stage rebuilt. The main entrance canopy was, however, removed. Internally the spaces were divided to form a slot-machine arcade, a computer games parlour etc and the intention was that there should also be a fast food restaurant and bar. The auditorium was horizontally divided at two levels. Some created spaces remained for a long time unused. The stage was dismantled but the grid remained. This has been a dismal recent history, not unlike that of the Philharmonic adjoining. However, the building was converted to a pub in 1999. Some of the damaging alterations have been removed and the move away from divided use has, to an extent, revealed the quality of the interior, unseen since 1988.

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• Other names
  New Theatre Royal, The Playhouse
• Events
  • 1878 Use: Until when not known.
  • 1878 Design/Construction:
    • Waring & Sons and W D Blesslay - Architect
  • 1920 Alteration: auditorium reconstructed
    • Willmott & Smith - Architect
  • Alteration: n.d. new elevation to St Mary Street
    • Willmott & Smith - Architect
  • 1988 Alteration: and sequence of internal alterations for multiple uses
    • Unknown - Architect
  • 1999 Alteration: partially restored and converted to public house
    • Lawrence Tring - Architect
  • 1878 Owner/Management: Edward Fletcher, owner and manager
  • 1898 Owner/Management: Robert Redford, owner and manager
  • 1908 Owner/Management: R Redford, lessee
  • 1912 Owner/Management: Southern Theatres Ltd, lessees
  • 1993 Owner/Management: John Williams, manager
• Capacities
  • Later: 1912: 2800 1946: 1036
• Listings
  • Grade II
• Dimensions
  • Stage dimensions: Depth: 48ft ?
  • Proscenium width: 26ft
  • Orchestra pit: Original 16
• Unreliable anecdotes
  The official Cardiff City Council pamphlet ‘Cardiff Theatres, Old and New’ mistakenly states that ‘A fire in 1899 completely gutted the building’. It was the Empire which burnt on 31 October 1899