Description

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 1 June 2026 to update the Name and Address and reformat the text to current standards

TQ 2379
4/100

SHEPHERDS BUSH GREEN W12
Shepherds Bush Empire

(Formerly listed as BBC Television Theatre)

2.10.81

II

Theatre formerly Shepherds Bush Empire. 1903 by Frank Matcham; in an unusual manner for this architect and now unique among his London theatres in showing marked Arts and Crafts influence. Terracotta, brick and roughcast; asymmetrical. A robust round tower on the left with a tall brick base, roughcast main stage pierced by casually placed terracotta framed windows; octagonal terracotta top stage with mannered classical details, each face with arched windows and scooped parapet set between blocked Ionic columns, above which plain corner shafts continue as ramped buttresses to support a lantern and cupola (originally with ornate finial). Centre brick-faced entrance bay with bracketed eaves, terracotta arcade at first floor level (now covered by a sign) and central bowed feature. On the right, a roughcast gabled bay and, beyond this, a wide, splayed brick return. Iron entrance canopy with modern cladding. Extensions and internal alterations for television use, but the auditorium still has much of its rich plaster ornament, with serpentine bracketed cornice over the proscenium, flanked by shell-hooded box and corner niches with angels in the spandrels, cove with scale ornament and circular ceiling with oval panels. Good entrance foyer.

Listing NGR: TQ2333179772

External Links

• Shepherd's Bush Empire at Wikipedia
• Shepherd's Bush Empire official website
• Wikidata Q2778511

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

• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)