Description

ISLINGTON

TQ3183NE ALMEIDA STREET
635-1/59/6 (South side)
29/09/72 Almeida Theatre
(Formerly Listed as:
ALMEIDA STREET
Warehouse of Beck's British Carnival
Novelties Limited)

GV II

Former Islington Literary and Scientific Institute;
subsequently used as a music hall from 1874, as a Salvation
Army citadel from 1890, when the interior was considerably
altered, as a warehouse from 1956, and as a theatre from 1980.
c.1837 by Robert Lewis Roumieu and Alexander Dick Gough. Built
by W.S.Dove. Stucco scored as ashlar, roofs of Welsh slate so
far as visible. Two storeys over basement, five bays to
Almeida Street forming a symmetrical facade, the middle three
bays projecting. In a stripped Classical style, the capitals
consisting of rectilinear mouldings simply stepped-out, and
pediments of unmoulded blocks. Steps up to original entrances
either side of the main front in single-storey wings:
flat-arched under porches with antae, entablature and block
pediment to blocking course; panelled doors of original
design. Additional doors to second and fourth bays, the other
openings 4/4 sashes. All openings flanked by pilasters with
stepped capitals, the projecting centrepiece flanked by giant
antae rising through two storeys. On the first floor the order
is the same except that the middle three windows are stepped
back to create a distyle arrangement of antae. Entablature and
blocking course with central pediment.
INTERIOR: in the 1890s the auditorium was reversed in
direction from the original lecture hall, and now has a
gallery carried on cast-iron columns at the northern end, the
balcony being five sides of an octagon in plan with its front
face decorated with anaglypta.
(Historians' file, English Heritage London Division; Almeida
Theatre. The building and its past (leaflet)).

Listing NGR: TQ3164783990

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Almeida Theatre at Wikipedia
• Almeida Theatre official website
• Wikidata Q2839111

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide