Knightstone Pavilion And Opera House

Knightstone Pavilion and Opera House is a public hall and theatre dating to 1902, with later 20th-century alterations. The building is constructed of rock-faced local grey limestone, with stucco above. The roofs are slate, largely replaced with concrete tiles, and include lead-clad domes.

The building is rectangular, containing an auditorium with balconies on three sides, a stage at the north-west end, and corner towers linked by colonnades. The entrance, originally at the south-east end, has been converted into a bar.

The design is in an Edwardian free-Classical style. The exterior is two storeys high. The auditorium has gable-ended roofs with modillion details to the verge soffits. The north-west stage has a lower, similar roof, topped with a Diocletian window featuring an oculus and moulded plaster cartouches in the corners. The corner towers are of varying sizes, the entrance towers being larger; they have pyramidal roofs with finials, tripartite windows under the eaves, French casements opening onto small balconies, and large round-arched windows. The towers have moulded plaster cartouches with masks and festoons. Flanking the entrance are two two-storey pavilions with pedimental gable ends, niches in the gables, and a colonnade now glazed in. The north-east and south-west sides feature colonnades with paired Tuscan columns and segmental-headed clerestory windows above. The north-west towers have shallow lead-clad domes with cupolas, and the colonnade on that end has been partially filled in.

The interior auditorium features a segmental vaulted plaster ceiling with moulded panels. There are balconies at the end and on both sides, supported by piers with arcaded segmental-headed arches featuring keyblocks and pilastered piers. The proscenium arch has a moulded plaster frame. The space below the end balcony has been partitioned off to create a billiard room. The entrance foyer has been converted into a bar.