Bandstand, Centre Vale Park

Bandstand, Centre Vale Park

A bandstand of 1914, designed by the Borough Engineer and restored in 1999.

The bandstand stands close to the north wall of Centre Vale Park and forms a key feature of both the park and the conservation area within which it is located, visible from vantage points on the surrounding hills. It is constructed of cast-iron columns and steel frame, with timber coverings and a plinth of concrete, brick and sandstone.

The building follows a theatre format, generally rectangular in plan with an enclosed backstage area to the north, enclosed sides and an open front. The stage faces south and features tiered concave staging at the rear. The rear wall of the stage is concave and lined in vertical tongue-and-groove boarding, currently covered at low level with plywood sheeting. The front of the stage has a convex central projection flanked by short flat fronts. The riser is horizontally boarded (also currently concealed by plywood sheets) and divided into panels by vertical posts. Decorative newels flank the projection and rise through the balustrade, which is low and divided into square pierced panels. The left section is missing, as are urn finials to the newels. Below the boarding is a moulded sandstone plinth.

The roof follows the plan of the stage front and overhangs by more than a metre, sloping downwards to the rear with a boarded soffit above the stage. The front of the roof has a deep moulded cornice with paired dentils, the same cornice to the sides being visible from the front. The roof is supported at each side by two cast-iron columns, one at the front of the stage and one set back approximately halfway at the front of the tiered staging. Each front column has a large decorative timber console applied to its front face. The columns have square upper sections and circular lower sections with square bases and capitals. Below stage level, the columns are boxed-in with decorative timber.

The sides are horizontally boarded above the stone plinth with similar decorative timber to the front. Between the columns are upper and lower panels of metal, probably mild steel, each with a diamond-patterned panel central within a rectangular grid. To the rear of the columns the boarding is full-height, with two rails and three posts forming nine panels. The three stage-level panels each have a window, now boarded, with decorative labels to the sill and head.

The rear is similarly treated, with horizontal boarding divided into three major sections by steel posts, one boxed-in and the other now exposed. The sections are further divided by smaller posts and rails. The central section has a glazed fanlight area over paired vertical-boarded doors, with temporary repairs covering parts of the boarding. The rainwater goods are cast in metal to traditional patterns but missing their lower sections. The roof is covered with a liquid membrane.

Internally, the below-stage area has exposed structural timber and masonry. A small winder stair accesses the stage to the left of the entrance. The roof structure is unboarded behind the stage, with steel members visible. There is a small toilet cubicle to the right of the entrance with modern fittings.