The Bedford Civic Theatre was a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

located on Horne Lane in the

town centre A town centre is the commerce, commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train ...

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The theatre operated from 1952 to its closure in 2012. The former theatre building is now used as a Council Customer Service Centre.

History

First opened in 1952, the theatre was owned by

Bedford Borough Council Bedford Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The executive of the council is the direct ...

, and operated by the

Corn Exchange, Bedford Bedford Corn Exchange is an events and concert venue located on St Paul's Square in the Castle area of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. History of the Corn Exchange The building (constructed in 1874) was designed to be a concert venue and meeti ...

. It hosted a variety of events, exhibitions and performances, and groups such as the Bedford Dramatic Society, The Bradgate Players, Swan Theatre Company, Bedford Amateur Operatic Society and Bedford Marianettes regularly produced plays and musicals in the venue. The Bedford Pantomime Company started off producing a traditional

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

at the theatre each Christmas before moving to the Corn Exchange. The Bedfringe festival, a pre-

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

festival opened in 2007 and used the Civic Theatre as its main venue. The building that housed the theatre is a

Grade II Listed Building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. It was built in 1859-1860 as the assembly hall of

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

. The architect was James Horsford, who also designed the former St Luke’s Church in St Peter’s Street. When the school relocated to its current site in 1891, the building was sold to the town council, and became part of the Town Hall, and was used as a council chamber and meeting room. The stage and

proscenium arch A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...

were installed in about 1900. The name Civic Theatre was given to it by the late Weyman Mackay, a leading light in am-dram circles after Second World War, about the time that it was refurbished as a theatre around 1948-52. There used to be a plaque in the entrance foyer, but this was thrown away during the last redecoration in about 1995.

Closure

In April 2010, Bedford Borough Council announced its intention to close the Civic Theatre, converting the building into a 'one-stop-shop' for council services. The plans form part of a redevelopment of the surrounding area, which will include the demolition of Bedford Town Hall. The Theatre was documented o
The Theatres Trust
website and was listed by the Trust in the 2010 Directory o
Theatre Buildings At Risk
A local campaign to '
Save Our Civic
'' made up from members of the Amateur Dramatic Societies in Bedford and the surrounding area and other users of the Civic Theatre opposed the closure and conversion of the Theatre. They were supported by Patrick Hall, the town's former Member of Parliament, and Richard Fuller the current MP. However the Civic Theatre was closed in 2012, and the building now houses a Customer Service Centre for Bedford Borough Council.

References

{{reflist

External links

Bedford Corn Exchange & Civic Theatre

Bedfringe Festival

Save Our Civic Campaign
Theatres in Bedfordshire Buildings and structures in Bedford 1952 establishments in England 2012 disestablishments in England

History

Closure

See also

References

External links