The Kings Theatre, with numbers 24-28 (even) Albert Road, Southsea, Southsea, City of Portsmouth

Summary

Theatre, 1906-1907, designed by Frank Matcham for John W Boughton of the Portsmouth Theatres Company; the builder was Frank Corke. The theatre is built around three late-C19 shops with lodgings above (numbers 24-28 Albert Road), included in the listing.

Description

Theatre, 1906-1907, designed by Frank Matcham for John W Boughton of the Portsmouth Theatres Company; the builder was Frank Corke. Matcham’s original drawings survive, though damaged and incomplete; internal area names used in the Details below have been taken from these, and from descriptions given in the contemporary press. The theatre is built around three late-C19 shops with lodgings above (numbers 24-28 Albert Road), included in the listing.

THEATRE

MATERIALS: steel frame construction, with red and brown brick, laid in English bond, and stucco: the principal public-facing parts of the theatre, namely the hexagonal corner tower and Albert Road (north) elevation, are stuccoed; the Exmouth Road (west) elevation is of red brick, and the Collingwood Road (south) elevation is brown brick. The roofs are of Welsh slate; there is a ventilation louvre to the roof over the auditorium. The windows in the principal elevations of the theatre are timber with leaded lights, the vast majority original.

PLAN: the theatre is an irregular parallelogram on plan, with the hexagonal tower containing the principal entrance occupying the sharp north-west corner formed by the junction of Albert Road to the north and Exmouth Road to the west, the front of house areas forming a triangular section to the north. Further east on Albert Road are four shop buildings (see below), bookended by the hexagonal corner tower, and by a stair tower with entrances to the east. The southern part of the building is occupied by the rectangular auditorium and stage, with backstage facilities wrapped around the south-east corner.

EXTERIOR: the theatre demonstrates the eclectic range of Edwardian Classicism, with elements of Baroque, neoclassical, Italianate and Queen Anne Revival influence in evidence.

The theatre’s main entrance is in the north face of the three-storey hexagonal tower, and was intended to serve those wishing to sit in the dress circle and stalls; the entrance is preceded by a splayed, single-storey, bowed open porch of multi-shaded brown faience, which has Ionic columns, entablature and parapet with the words ‘KING’S THEATRE’, and a low pierced balustrade above the plinth. The porch is floored with terrazzo, with a crown motif. The theatre is entered through two pairs of original double doors, each with geometric bevelled glazing to the upper part; the overlight is painted with Jacobean-style strapwork. The rusticated ground floor of the tower has paired rectangular windows to west and east, with keyed occuli above. At each corner of the tower is an engaged giant Ionic pilaster running through first and second floors with blocking to the lower part of the shaft. There is a large first-floor window to each side set within an eared architrave, having a large keystone and open pediment. Across each side at second-floor level runs a screen of truncated Doric columns behind which are three windows. The entablature above has a bold cornice and a parapet with consoles to the corners, above which are heraldic lion finials; the parapet bears the words ‘KINGS THEATRE’ in raised lettering to the north. At second-floor level, windows are set in horizontal bands behind screens of Doric columns. The steeply-pitched octagonal roof is topped by a timber cupola, surmounted by a statue of a draped female figure holding a flaming torch; this is a 2009 fibreglass replica of the original (see History).

On the north (Albert Road) elevation, the block at the eastern end provides the secondary entrance, having a wide doorway flanked by Doric pilasters, above which is a broken pediment; the frieze bears the name of the theatre. The opening holds three pairs of half-glazed doors; these originally provided an exit from the upper circle as well as access to offices, early access to and exit from the gallery, and early access to and exit from the pit. At first-floor level is a large oculus between small square windows. The second-floor stage is framed by channelled pilasters; at the centre is a single window in a keyed pedimented architrave. The top floor takes the form of a loggia, the five small windows set back between unornamented piers; the roof is hipped, but gives the impression of being a pyramid. Between this end block and the corner tower are the three late-C19 shops (see numbers 24, 26 and 28 Albert Road below). The upper part of the auditorium wall, which is visible rising behind the shops, is of red brick, framed by stone pilasters with ball finials, with a linking storey band above which is a central lunette; below, the wall is of brown brick with purely functional window openings, and in the well between theatre and shops, of glazed brick.

In the red brick, east (Exmouth Road) elevation, extending southwards from the corner tower, the front-of-house section to the north is given a degree of architectural consideration, having a stuccoed ground floor with pilasters and cornice, a central pedimented oriel window at first-floor level, and stone architraves with keystones to the windows. The northern bay is recessed, beneath an open-bed segmental pediment. To the north of the oriel are two pairs of double doors with painted glass panels, one providing access to the upper circle stairs, and the other to the pit. Double doors to the south of the oriel provide access to the gallery stairs. The ground floor is of glazed brown brick southwards of the doors. The external walls containing the auditorium and stage are functional in appearance, with scattered fenestration, though at gallery level, interest is provided by shaped gables, with an eared sign to the parapet announcing ‘THE KINGS THEATRE’. A further three pairs of double doors provide exits from the pit, stalls, and dress circle. Further south is the stage exit, and at the southern end, behind the stage, a tall opening for stage scenery; the opening, with chamfered jambs, has boarded doors to the lower part and a rising section above.

To the south of the stage, with its southern elevation to Collingwood Road, is a lower wedge-shaped section, containing dressing rooms and offices, narrowing to the curved south-west corner at the junction with Exmouth Road. Built of brown brick, its rows of windows having red-brick, cambered-arched surrounds, the elevation is functional in character. The window openings hold fixed timber frames, with horizontal casement sections to the tops. To the east is a two-storey section containing the stage door, with a taking-in door above. High on the wall of the theatre behind is a large painted sign: ‘KINGS THEATRE’. The roughcast elevation above is framed by inset stone scrolls, giving some presence to this side of the theatre, as seen from a distance. The eastern parts of the theatre are largely obscured by other buildings, and are not designed to be seen.

INTERIOR: the interior of the theatre is a well-preserved example of the period. The complex and ingenious plan which served the theatre’s hierarchical seating arrangement, whilst making the most economical use of a constrained site, remains legible, with separate entrances (and exits), box offices, circulation and communal spaces, and with interlocking staircases at the southern ends of the front of house section. Greater movement by the public across these areas is now possible than was originally intended. Levels of decoration reflect the status of the location; the overall survival of decorative features and finishes is very good. Some original signage survives, including room names painted on the glazed sections of doors.

The main entrance to the north was intended to serve the dress circle and stalls. The entrance opens to a hexagonal vestibule with the box office (reconstructed) to the east. The foyer is paved with black and white marble, and the circular ceiling is supported on pendentives, each occupied by the relief figure of an angel with spreading wings; oculi – glazed or painted – fill the lunettes. The staircase to the dress circle rises through an archway, and leads to the domed foyer, with corner corbels shaped like opening flowers; the ceiling is decorated with husk swags and masks, whilst on the wall is a painting of nymph with a lute and amorino set in a plasterwork frame. To the west an archway leads to a raised seating area, lit by the large oriel window; this gives on to what was originally the ladies’ WCs. The long Dress Circle Saloon located across the north end of the auditorium retains its original serpentine panelled bar, with marble top, and inset mirrored back bar. Access to the stalls was via staircases located to either side of the boxes, next to the stage. The Stalls Saloon is a near-triangular room to the east of the stalls, entered via a stair screened by scagliola marble columns on pedestals. The original curved, marble-topped counter survives to the south end, and the stepped semi-circular back bar. The passages to the pit – the cheaper area to the rear of the stalls – from the entrances on Exmouth Road and Albert Road have brown-glazed brick to half height, with painted brick above. The ramped passage from Albert Road leads to the box office, a small grilled opening set into an alcove. The Pit Saloon is clad to dado height in tiling with an Art Nouveau flavour; the southern wall is not tiled. The boarded bar is an interwar replacement, though the back bar appears to be original. Original shelving for drinks survives around the room. The tiling continues into the lounge area to the east, provided for ladies, with a hatch from the bar; this area has now been partitioned with WCs in the eastern portion. The entrance to the main upper circle stair, from Exmouth Road has the Art Nouveau tiling used elsewhere, and incorporates a box office – this has an angled painted timber frontage with an opening to each side, and a balustraded top. The walls of the stair are finished with painted plaster. The Upper Circle Saloon is a hexagonal room within the tower: the semi-circular bar is a reproduction; the painted glass windows are mainly original, having been recently replaced; the ceiling is covered with lincrusta. The stair to the gallery, leading from Exmouth Road, interlocks with that to the upper circle; the gallery stair is lined with glazed bricks. The gallery box office is on the early-entrance and exit stair from Albert Road, and is a tiny lobby with its own circulation. The former Gallery Saloon is entered through single doors with simple stained glass panels. The bar has glazed bricks to the north wall whilst the southern wall is curved, following the line of the auditorium; the angled steel beams supporting the gallery seating slope upwards and span the ceiling.

The auditorium itself has sweeping cantilevered tiered dress circle, upper circle and gallery, combining good sightlines with a maximum seating capacity. (Originally designed to seat over 2000 people, the seating has been reordered and renewed to provide greater space and comfort.) The rich Baroque decoration makes use of elaborate sculptural detail throughout, particularly to the two tiers of boxes flanking the proscenium arch. The main ceiling is oval, with lunette panels painted with groups of amorini, divided by winged plaster figures. The central roundel surrounds a ventilation gasolier consisting of gas jets with a grille, above which a funnel leads through the roof. The segmental proscenium arch is of scagliola, imitating Brèche Violette marble. On the ground floor, the pit benches which originally occupied the rear area of the auditorium have been removed and the stalls seating extended. The walls of the former pit area are lined with tiling, with an Art Nouveau motif; there are alcoves for fire hydrants. Cast iron columns towards the rear provide additional support to the dress circle above. The rear wall of the dress circle is of painted plaster with a lincrusta frieze. The horseshoe-arched upper circle has lincrusta to the rear wall, and lincrusta-covered columns providing additional support to the gallery. In the gallery, the majority of the seating is in the original bench form, though replaced. The rear wall is lined with glazed bricks.

To the east of the stage is the scene dock, housing painted backdrops, and reached by a plain timber stair. The dock includes a platform and frame for painting scenery. The theatre remains a ‘hemp house’, with the fly bars suspended on hemp ropes, with surviving winches, though additional computer-operated bars have also been installed between the original bars. The backstage area to the south is functional, with painted brick walls. Dressing room fittings are simple and have largely been renewed, though some elements survive, and doors have been replaced. To the south-west is a large room marked ‘wardrobe’, with both clothes-washing and kitchen facilities; the original wardrobe room is on the third floor of the tower, and is now the theatre’s archive room.

The basement area, now largely used for storage and carpentry, houses the heating chamber, as well as the former band room, which has a strong metal door, and a room for the electrician. It is understood that the basement also contains a central vacuum cleaning plant, run by an electric motor, which collected dust via pipes with inlet points; this was probably a slightly later addition.

NUMBERS 24, 26 AND 28 ALBERT ROAD

A row of three terraced buildings, thought to date from the 1870s, consisting of shops with lodgings above, sited between the two towers on Albert Road.

MATERIALS: brick, with stuccoed frontages. The roofs are tiled and slated; there are brick stacks.

PLAN: each building has a rectangular footprint, with a projecting stair wing to the rear; these wings were originally longer, but were rebuilt in truncated form as part of the development of the theatre.

EXTERIOR: the front elevations have a restrained Italianate character, the ground-floor shopfronts separated by rusticated pilasters, and the fascias separated by pulvinated consoles. Each shopfront has a doorway set between canted plate-glass windows in basket-arched timber frames; the panelled stallrisers survive to number 26, and tiled entrances survive to all three. Above ground-floor level, the houses are separated by pilasters, with paired console corbels supporting a heavy cornice. There is a panelled parapet above with ball finials above the pilasters; the parapet is not original to the row, but was added shortly after the opening of the theatre in 1907. Above number 24 the parapet has lost its detailing. On the first floor each house has a large canted oriel window with segmental-headed glazing, and above that are pairs of narrow windows in moulded architraves. The second-floor windows rest on a moulded storey-band. The rear elevations are of brick, with segmental arched window openings; the rear elevations of the rebuilt stair-wings are blind.

INTERIOR: though the interiors are of some interest as later-C19 shops with lodgings above, there has been much alteration, and those historic features which do remain are of fairly standard types; the interiors are therefore considered to be of lesser interest. Each building originally had a ground-floor shop with a room behind; the partition survives only in number 26. Though the small rear room survives here, the chimneypiece has been replaced, as have others within this building. Numbers 24 and 26 have shuttered display compartments behind the shop windows. Each building has a very tight stair within its compact stair tower, branching to reach the first and second floors; bulbous moulded newel posts survive. Within the lodging areas some doors, architraves, skirting and cornicing survive. In each building, the first-floor oriel window has a window-seat or deep cill. Painted stone chimneypieces with chamfered jambs and moulded brackets survive in the upper rooms to number 24. Number 28 has been subject to the greatest alteration, with few features surviving; the upper floors are in use as offices and the building is linked with the theatre at first-floor level.

History

The Kings (or King's) Theatre was the third theatre in the Portsmouth area to be built, or rebuilt, under the direction of John Walters Boughton (1847-1914) who became managing director of the Portsmouth Theatres Company in 1882. Boughton led the rebuilding of the Theatre Royal, which re-opened as the New Theatre Royal in 1884, and also the rebuilding of the Princes Theatre to Frank Matcham’s designs; the Princes Theatre re-opened in 1891. Boughton employed to reconstruct the Theatre Royal (listed at Grade II*; National Heritage List for England 1104328) in 1900, and in 1907, Matcham returned to the Princes Theatre (demolished) to rebuild the circle on the cantilever system, removing supporting pillars from the dress circle.

Boughton was keen to develop a theatre in Southsea, which had been growing in importance throughout the C19 as a centre of trade, population, and entertainment; Boughton paid Matcham for the initial designs for the Kings Theatre out of his own pocket, only revealing his action to his fellow directors once there was no possibility of the scheme failing. This secrecy may have had to do with the challenges involved in securing the whole site, which had been developed in the late-C19 as shops and housing, or may have been connected with projected plans of a rival company for a Southsea theatre. Part of the land was secured in 1905, but it appears that the three shops at numbers 24-28 Albert Road were not made available. An article published in The Builder in January 1906 notes that the intention at that time was for the erection of several shops on this part of the site, presumably replacing those already there. However, Matcham’s surviving undated plans for the theatre show the complex as built, with the theatre designed around three of the existing five shop buildings, their rear stair-wings truncated to allow extra space for the theatre; a parapet was added to the row shortly after the completion of the theatre. Number 26 was finally purchased in August 1906, just prior to work commencing, and the theatre opened 12 months later on 30 September, 1907.

Frank Matcham (1854-1920) was the outstanding and most prolific architect of the boom period of theatre and music hall construction of about 1880-1914, designing or remodelling at least 120 theatres in Britain, as well as undertaking alterations and improvements to others. Of these, only a relatively small proportion survive.

The Kings Theatre continued in the ownership of the Portsmouth Theatres Company until 1964, when it was purchased by Commander Reggie and Mrs Joan Cooper. In 1990 it was sold to Hampshire County Council, and in 2001 the theatre was purchased by Portsmouth City Council and leased to the Kings Theatre Trust Ltd. The theatre has received some alterations both externally and internally, and a number of rooms have changed in function, but the building remains essentially intact. The building was restored in 2007-2009 by Tim Ronald Architects.

The carved figure, thought to be Aurora, which originally surmounted the cupola of the tower, held aloft a torch which was connected to the auditorium lights, going out when those lights were extinguished during a performance. The figure was later taken down, and in 1976 was sited on the porch. It has now been moved to the theatre's entrance vestibule, and a fibreglass reproduction of 2009 stands in its place on the cupola. Within the vestibule, it was noted in 1976 that at that time the ceiling's central roundel (now plain) was painted 'depicting a lady who may have been the original owner.'

The shop buildings at numbers 24-28 Albert Road remained distinct from the theatre, and historically were not connected internally. In 1911 number 24 Albert Road was occupied by a tobacconist, number 26 by a photographer, and number 28 by a hairdresser. The buildings continued in use as shops into the C21, though all are now closed. The Kings Theatre has owned number 28 since 2012 and the building is in use as theatre storage and offices, with an internal connection to the theatre building; numbers 24 and 26 are empty. All three have been altered internally, to differing degrees.

Reasons for Listing

The Kings Theatre, Southsea, built in 1906-1907 to the designs of Frank Matcham, together with three late-C19 shops at 24-28 Albert Road, is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a fine and well-preserved provincial theatre by the acclaimed theatre architect, Frank Matcham;
* the hierarchical nature of the front-of-house arrangements, with separate entrances and exits, box offices, stairs, and bars provided for each seating area, remains legible, the corresponding detailing and decoration substantially intact;
* the auditorium combines Matcham’s cantilevered tiers, providing uninterrupted sight-lines, with rich Baroque decoration including elaborate sculptural detail and painted lunette panels, and a scagliola proscenium arch;
* the scene dock retains fly bars suspended on hemp ropes with original winches, and a scene-painting frame.

Historic interest:

* the establishment of the theatre in 1906-1907 by the Portsmouth Theatres Company reflects the C19 and early-C20 development of Southsea as a centre of trade, population, and entertainment;
* the retention and alteration of the late-C19 shop buildings illustrates the complex history of the theatre’s development, whilst at the same time providing a visual and functional connection with Southsea’s C19 shopping street.

External Links

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