Portland Hall

Portland Hall is a building located on Portland Street in Southport, constructed in 1863 and later altered. Originally a museum, it has served as a concert hall, theatre, and various other uses, and is now a private dwelling. The front range is made of orange brick laid in stretcher bond, with painted sandstone dressings and a slate roof, designed in a late Georgian style.

The exterior features a gabled facade with two storeys and an attic, presenting a symmetrical three-window range. It has rusticated quoins and a plain band at the pedimental gable. The ground floor includes a large square-headed doorway with a moulded surround, a shallow pediment supported by consoles, and glazed and panelled double doors flanked by side windows and a restored three-light overlight. The flanking windows have corniced architraves. On the first floor, the windows feature eared architraves, raised sills on small brackets, and are now four-pane top-hung casements that imitate sashes. The gable has an oblong four-light casement with a shallow curved lintel, and there are chimneys on the side walls.

The interior has not been inspected. Historically, Portland Hall opened in 1863 as the Royal Museum of Natural History, was converted to the Royal Music Hall in 1867, and renamed in 1871 as Concert and Assembly Rooms. It became the Vaudeville Theatre in 1874, served as a roller-skating rink in the late 1870s, was the office and works of the Southport Daily News in the early 1880s, functioned as a drill hall for the Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers in the late 1880s, and was a furniture warehouse from 1890 until 1988.