Grand Theatre

The Grand Theatre is a Grade II* listed building constructed with fireproof concrete and a steel frame, featuring a front elevation of red brick. It has a wide central gable adorned with scrolls, flanked by semi-octagonal towers that have parapets and narrow angle pilasters, but no domes. The tympanum of the gable and the first floor are divided into rectangular panels by a framework of cement-rendered ribs. On the first floor, there are two windows, each with four narrow segmental-headed sash lights. The ground floor is made of painted brick and includes five doorways and narrow windows. There is a cast-iron verandah, which formerly had a glazed roof, supported by fluted columns with capitals and spandrels.

Inside, the theatre features an ornate Baroque auditorium with exquisite fibrous plaster work, musical trophies, and arabesque detailing, although the lower parts are obscured by plasterboard cladding. The square-headed proscenium arch has panelled reveals, with the panels decorated with gilded musical instruments in relief. The auditorium includes two cantilevered tiers and two bays of balconies, along with a horseshoe-shaped gallery that has a bowed balcony front and a panelled soffit. The ceiling is adorned with a large intricately worked circular panel set within a rectangular frame, painted to depict a sky with birds, along with reliefs of the Prince of Wales head and a sunset rose.