The Theatre Royal in Manchester opened in 1845 and operated as a theatre for 76 years until closing in 1921 due to growing competition from other theatres. The building is the oldest surviving theatre in Manchester and has since been used as a cinema, bingo hall, and nightclub. It has been unoccupied since 2012 but proposals have been made to restore it for public use again. The neoclassical building features a statue of Shakespeare at the entrance and has signs from its former uses still visible on the exterior.

1. BA(Hons) Interior Design
Level 4: Autumn Term
Ruby Hooper

4. Theatre Royal
The Victorian theatre was opened in 1845 and was active as a theatre for 76 years (1845-1921). The reason for closure
was due to the rapid rate of growing competition within Manchester, Palace Theatre and Opera House grew in popularity
which put Theatre Royal out of business. The building is the oldest surviving theatre in Manchester. John Gould Irwin &
Francis Chester worked on the architecture for the opening but the building was later alternated by Edward Salomon in
1871. Prior, Manchester was home to two Theatre Royals before this building, John Knowles was a respected theatre
manager of the second Theatre Royal which burned down in a fire; Knowles and Chester visited London in search of
architectural inspiration before planning this building. The theatre held a capacity of 2,500 audience members and cost
just over £23,000 to construct, a tank filled with 20,000 gallons of water was installed in the roof as a fire precaution. In
1972 the unused theatre became a cinema until 1972, this is probably the most suiting adaptation because the layout is of
a similar format. From 1972 until 1990 the the building was transformed into a Bingo Hall until lighting bridges and rigs
were installed to accommodate the new use which was a nightclub from 1990 until 2009.
The building has been unoccupied since 2012 but several proposals have been made to the council in hope of restoring
the theatre and bringing the building back into public use. The Theatres Trust have stated that converions made for other
purposes has obscured the theatre rather than destroyed its assets. The Trust classified that the original interior is
“restorable as a theatre”.
The three story building was constructed in sandstone ashlar, sandstone was a popular construction material due to its
tolerance for the weather. The building has a Neoclassical style which began in the 18th century, this style emphasizes the
wall, giving is further detail. Between the second and third story there is a cornice which is used to decorate the building
and almost give it a crown, including this in the architecture gives the exterior a royal, superior appearance which has the
ability to make the building appear intimidating. The theatre was dedicated to Shakespeare so Knowles placed a statue of
the iconic playwright central of the entrance, the Carrera marble statue then became Manchester’s finest statue for a short
period of time, the statue sits within a pedimented niche which draws attention to the central alignment and gives the
statue further purpose and publicity.
This building caught my interest because of the previous uses still being visible to the public. The theatre sign still remains
proudly at the top of the building and the coliseum nightclub signs hang on the sides of the building. The boards installed
at the front are not particularly design features but the change the way the public view the building and react to it. The
building is surrounded with old and new security cameras which gives the place a sense of importance and security, the
modern cameras show that people could potentially of tried to get inside so this disheartens people from attempting to
break in, this intreagues me even further on knowing what could be within. It states that he building is derelict as there is
no access to the inside, members of the public have taken advantage of this and used it as promotional space which
works for them because it’s placed in a busy street on a building that draws plenty of attention, even though the buildings
interior is no longer in use, the exterior still has a purpose for a small margin of people.

5. This simple image was created in
Photoshop. I looked closely at the images
I captured so I could create something
accurate which I can refer back to and
understand which part of the building I
have focused on. I thought about the lines
seen in the central third of the building, a
lot of the construction is line heavy, the
image here does the building no justice
as there is very little detail. I have a key
interest in the design surrounding the
door, the entire doorway is blocked off to
the public, it is not visible or accessible
which fascinates me further because the
entrance to a building is key. Its been
used by every single visitor to the
building, be that for the theatre, bingo or
nightclub, the entrance has seen
generations of people come and go for a
reason that suits there personal
preferences. Research has shown me
that the door is not as extravagant as I
hoped for, the décor surrounding it has a
lot more going for it. Research has also
shown me that the entrance has five
steps leading to it, this elevation is
accessible by most audience members
while giving people a minor sensation of
importance because they are walking up
into something.

9. Central Library
The Victorian theatre was opened in 1845 and was active as a theatre for 76 years (1845-1921). The reason for closure
was due to the rapid rate of growing competition within Manchester, Palace Theatre and Opera House grew in popularity
which put Theatre Royal out of business. The building is the oldest surviving theatre in Manchester. John Gould Irwin &
Francis Chester worked on the architecture for the opening but the building was later alternated by Edward Salomon in
1871. Prior, Manchester was home to two Theatre Royals before this building, John Knowles was a respected theatre
manager of the second Theatre Royal which burned down in a fire; Knowles and Chester visited London in search of
architectural inspiration before planning this building. The theatre held a capacity of 2,500 audience members and cost
just over £23,000 to construct, a tank filled with 20,000 gallons of water was installed in the roof as a fire precaution. In
1972 the unused theatre became a bingo hall for a short period of time until lighting bridges and rigs were installed to
accommodate the new use which was a nightclub.
The building has been unoccupied since 2012 but several proposals have been made to the council in hope of restoring
the theatre and bringing the building back into public use. The Theatres Trust have stated that converions made for other
purposes has obscured the theatre rather than destroyed its assets. The Trust classified that the original interior is
“restorable as a theatre”.
The three story building was constructed in sandstone ashlar, sandstone was a popular construction material due to its
tolerance for the weather. The building has a Neoclassical style which began in the 18th century, this style emphasizes the
wall, giving is further detail. Between the second and third story there is a cornice which is used to decorate the building
and almost give it a crown, including this in the architecture gives the exterior a royal, superior appearance which has the
ability to make the building appear intimidating. The theatre was dedicated to Shakespeare so Knowles placed a statue of
the iconic playwright central of the entrance, the Carrera marble statue then became Manchester’s finest statue for a short
period of time, the statue sits within a pedimented niche which draws attention to the central alignment and gives the
statue further purpose and publicity.
This building caught my interest because of the previous uses still being visible to the public. The theatre sign still remains
proudly at the top of the building and the coliseum nightclub signs hang on the sides of the building. The boards installed
at the front are not particularly design features but the change the way the public view the building and react to it. The
building is surrounded with old and new security cameras which gives the place a sense of importance and security, the
modern cameras show that people could potentially of tried to get inside so this disheartens people from attempting to
break in, this intreagues me even further on knowing what could be within. It states that he building is derelict as there is
no access to the inside, members of the public have taken advantage of this and used it as promotional space which
works for them because it’s placed in a busy street on a building that draws plenty of attention, even though the buildings
interior is no longer in use, the exterior still has a purpose for a small margin of people.