St Martins Theatre

CAMDEN

TQ3080NW WEST STREET 798-1/108/1714 (North East side) 16/03/73 St Martins Theatre

GV II

Theatre. 1916. By WGR Sprague as a companion to the Ambassadors (1913), West Street (qv), but for different owners. Built by Lenn Thornton and Co. Ashlar facade with banded rustication to ground floor. EXTERIOR: 4 storeys. 5 bays with 10-window left return. Ground floor with round arch openings and wide central entrance surmounted by a plain C20 canopy. Giant engaged Ionic columns in antis with rusticated end pilasters rise through the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors, supporting an entablature, with triglyphs in the frieze, and parapet. First floor windows have Tuscan pilasters supporting pediments, above shouldered architraves and keyblocks. INTERIOR: 2-tier auditorium, in Classical style, of polished hardwood. Turned balusters to balcony fronts. Side walls of auditorium have large Doric engaged columns and pilasters on pedestals supporting bold entablature which continues over the rectangular proscenium arch. Glazed domed ceiling. Stage machinery: nearly complete example of Edwardian (1916) wooden stage, marred only by alterations made to accommodate dimmer room in the sub-stage space. Represents one of the final stages in the development of timber stage machinery in England and an exceptional survival. HISTORICAL NOTE: "Architectural Review" of that time noted a change in style of decoration from the lavish showy palace to a traditional English domestic interior implying a more select audience.

Listing NGR: TQ3002380984