Coronet Cinema

This is a theatre, later adapted as a cinema, constructed in 1898 by WGR Sprague. It occupies a corner site and presents a distinctive appearance both externally and internally. The exterior is painted once-rendered stone with a roof that is not visible, and is dominated by a tall corner cupola featuring engaged Ionic columns supported by heavy console brackets. The main facade, of three and four storeys, features a monumental giant order of fluted composite pilasters rising through two or three storeys. These pilasters stand above a plain ground floor treated as a classical base, marked by a deep balustraded band. The order is topped by a delicate plaster frieze of swags under a dentil cornice and a high balustraded parapet. The corner itself has three round-arched bays with decorative plasterwork in the spandrels and tripartite windows topped with broken pediments. A symmetrical nine-bay elevation of four storeys faces Notting Hill Gate, with three-bay pediments bearing cartouche decoration on each side and round-arched pediments over some second-floor windows. A three-bay, three-storey elevation fronts Hillgate Street, also featuring a decorated pediment and broken pediments to the first floor.

The interior is characterized by a circular foyer beneath the cupola, leading to a high auditorium with two balconies. A large stage sits behind the proscenium, featuring acanthus moulding and fluting beneath delicate, rococo-style plasterwork. Segmental pediments with cartouches and wreathed composite columns previously framed boxes on either side of the stage. Further plasterwork on the balcony fronts distinguishes the levels; the lower section displays fruit swags and putti, while the upper section includes restrained, stylized wreaths. Pilasters line the side walls, arranged in an ascending sequence from Tuscan to moulded Tuscan, and then to Ionic. The stalls are decorated with a Vitruvian scroll and trophies, while the first floor features shell decoration. The gallery retains its original bench seating. The ceiling is supported by heavy console brackets and decorated with a series of linked gilded wreathes, incorporating good quality 1930s light fittings. Curtains were fitted in 1982.

The building is recognized as a rare surviving example of a London suburban theatre and opera house, and as the only intact suburban work by the important theatre architect WGR Sprague.