Alexandra Theatre And Market Hall To The Rear

The Alexandra Theatre and adjacent Market Hall, in Newton Abbot, were built in 1871, designed by John Chudleigh. The building was originally a corn exchange.

The Alexandra Theatre is constructed of squared Devon limestone and stucco, with freestone dressings, topped with a slate roof and a moulded stack to the rear return. The architectural style is Italianate palazzo, exemplified by the prominent three-stage west tower. The tower features wide eaves and a modillion cornice to a shallow-pitched pyramidal roof. It has paired semicircular-arched windows, blind to the front, with freestone impost and sill bands. A semicircular-arched recess on the second stage contains a hood mould with foliate stops over a circular window and a panel inscribed "Erected 1871". The rusticated semicircular entrance arch has chamfered jambs. Curved stucco infills are present at the angles between the tower and the main block, with cornices to the ground floor and square stucco infills to the first floor, likely added later. The five-bay exchange component has plain pilasters, an eaves band, and a plinth forming recesses with blind semicircular-arched windows and continuous sill bands. The roof ridge features two 20th-century cylindrical vents with conical tops. The interior of the theatre has not been inspected.

The attached Market Hall is of similar style. It contains six bays with approximately 10-meter high cast-iron columns, tied with wrought-iron and supported by wooden principals. Aisle posts are connected by arcade rails forming semicircular arches with diminishing circles in the spandrels. Sloping ceilings to the aisles feature diagonal planking and four purlins. A clerestory above the aisles has six square windows between each column, and the central apex has six purlins to each side with various thin metal ties. The south wall includes 12 segmental-arched recesses, two with doors, while the north aisle has a partly-glazed roof and eight arches, along with two 2/2-pane sash windows in the northwest corner. The west end, abutting the Alexandra Theatre, has three semicircular-arched recesses above one wide recess, and a 20th-century metal roller shutter. The east end is occupied by a 20th-century cafe.

The site’s development followed the Wolborough Local Board's purchase from Rev. Richard Lane in 1867.