Our Theatre
The Victoria Pavillion
The Victoria Pavillion, as it was then known, opened it’s doors to the public on 19 July 1897 designed to be both a grand variety theatre and a concert hall. Built at a cost of nearly £100,000, it was designed by Mangnall & Littlewood from Manchester with interiors by Dean and Co, including tiling covering the walls and ceiling of the lavish foyer by Burmantoft of Leeds. Marble steps led the public upstairs to the lavish Grand Circle with the third tier known locally as the Gods, with bench seating
Everyone is Welcome
From classical to pop music, extraordinary magical acts such as Koringa and Chung Ling Soo, the theatre was truly the People’s Palace, with two shows daily in the summer season and pantomime in the festive season. Now we are open for private events, paranormal events and Saturday and Sunday during the summer months for guided tours, our Café, Merchandise and Tombola stalls. On Sunday afternoon music from our resident volunteer organist. The building is completely run by volunteers and every penny spent goes back towards the running costs and restoration of this Grade II* listed marvel.
Auditorium
The magnificent auditorium with its roof span of 118 feet and height of 65 feet is still one of the largest in the country.
A masterpiece of Victorian engineering, the fibrous plaster ornamental ceiling is hung from a skeleton of girders originally supplied by the Widnes Foundry and fabricated by Andrew Handyside & Co, Britannia Works, Derby.
Grand Circle
Once reserved for the highest price tickets, the Grand Circle is currently undergoing restoration and our Take Your Seat campaign is fundraising to restore the original seating back within our building.
With a grant from Historic England, the fibrous plaster ceiling under which the Circle is situated was repaired and restored during 2021 and early 2022.
Visitors can view the Grand Circle only as a member of one of our guided theatre tours.
Upper Circle, ‘The gods’
Known locally as the gods, the upper circle was reserved for the cheap seats with the bench seating only being replaced by the current chairs in 1953.
Book on to one of our guided tours to go behind the scenes and experience the giddy heights of our impressive building.
