St Georges Theatre

St George’s Theatre, formerly a church, was built in 1714 as a chapel of ease to St Nicholas Church, designed by John Price of Wandsworth. The building became redundant in 1959 and was restored in 1974, reopening as a theatre in 1979. Its ground plan is based on St Clement Danes in London. The church is constructed of red brick in Flemish bond, with header bond in the quadrants, and has ashlar dressings on a stone plinth course. The roof is copper.

The exterior features two storeys and a four-window range. The north and south sides have four bays each, with giant pilasters supporting a Doric entablature below a rebuilt parapet. They contain round-headed sash windows with 8/8 lower panes and 12/12 upper panes. A six-panelled door is located on each front, requiring the alteration of a window. The east and west ends are connected to the sides by double quadrants, each containing a pair of sash windows set within a broad ashlar band. One quadrant bay on each side has a pedimented doorway, and the west end has a double-leaf door under a pediment, with pilasters rising to a broken pediment containing a round-headed sash with glazing bars. Above the parapet, a square tower is lit by a small sash to the west and features clock faces under pediments to the north and south. A low balustrade leads to an open cupola with paired columns, surmounted by a polygonal lantern under an ogeed dome, a ball finial, and a weathervane. The east end mirrors the west, but without doorways. The upper east window retains some 18th-century glazing bars.

The narthex, or entrance hall, has a staircase on either side, featuring turned balusters, a ramped and wreathed moulded handrail, and an open string. The interior originally comprised six bays of panelled timber piers supporting a gallery and six Doric columns rising to a barrel-vaulted ceiling with smaller domes at the east end. These elements remain, though the lower panelling and plaster vault have been removed, exposing the roof timbers. The roof structure includes principal studs, curved tension braces to the upper wall plate, and flat purlins, along with remaining barrel-vault formers. Corinthian columns are located at the east and west ends. Partitioning has occurred on the north side, creating a bar area, and on the south side, for changing rooms and offices. The original furnishings have been relocated to the Church of St Nicholas.