Description

TQ 3081 SE CITY OF WESTMINSTER ALDWYCH, WC2
60/20 (North side)

20.7.71 The Aldwych Theatre

G.V. II

Theatre. 1905 by W.G.R. Sprague. Portland stone faced, concealed roof.
Lively Free classicism of vaguely Beaux Arts derivation, part of the
Aldwych-Kingsway development and designed as a reverse pair to the Strand
Theatre q.v. flanking the Waldorf hotel q.v. in a symmetrical composition.
4 storeys and attic storey. Identical 3-window wide elevations to Aldwych
and Drury Lane, linked by inset, bowed, 2-window wide corner entrance
pavilion. Ground and 1st floors treated as rusticated podium with entrance
to corner under canopy returned to both fronts. Arcaded 1st floor windows.
Above 1st floor cornices rises a giant engaged Ionic order embracing the
2nd and 3rd floors with the 2nd floor windows treated as steep pedimented
Venetian windows. Tall attic storey above main entablature fronted to
Aldwych and Drury Lane by applied pediments, attic cornice and blocking
course surmounted by ball finials. Generous use of high and low-relief
statuary groups, swags, pendants and reverse scrolls. Each pedimented
attic carries statuary group on die. Drury Lane facade continued as lower
red brick wing with stone dressings. Interior has semi-elliptical
vestibule; C.17 style, stuccoed, 2-storeyed foyer with gallery and top 1st
staircase rising in one flight and returning in 2. Elegant auditorium in
Beaux Arts Dixhuitieme with 2 cantilevered balconies and ceiling with
coffered dome; stucco work expresses classical superimposition of 3 orders
with finely executed pendants, trophies, be-ribboned wreaths etc.; tiers of
boxes flanking proscenium etc..

The Theatres of London; Mander and Mitchenson.

Listing NGR: TQ3063481027

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Aldwych Theatre at Wikipedia
• Aldwych Theatre official website
• Wikidata Q1783531

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

• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)