The Workington Opera House, or ''The Opera'' as it was known, is a purpose built

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 in

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

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 ...

. Originally built as the Queen’s Jubilee Hall & Opera House it was gutted by

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

in 1927 and rebuilt with a fine wide

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

, and Ornamental ceiling with seating for 1200. The theatre has good sightlines and a large stage and currently sits empty after its former use as a bingo hall ended in 2004.

History

The theatre was designed by T. L. Banks & Townsend and had a small

with two

balconies A balcony (from it, balcone, "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or Corbel, console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. Types The traditional Malta, Malte ...

accommodating 1,130 people. The theatre was also equipped with a small

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

with a

proscenium 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 ...

width of 11 metres, a depth of 9.14 metres and a grid height of 14 metres. An

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

pit for 16 musicians was also included. *Other names: **Queen's Jubilee Hall *Dates: **Opened 1888. Date of first use not known. **1888 - Design/Construction: ***T.L. Banks & Townsend - Architect **1897-1900 - Alteration: reconstructed after

explosion An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...

(

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

unknown) **1927-1930 - Alteration: reconstructed after fire (architect unknown) **1963-1970 - Alteration:

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

rebuilt (architect unknown)

Current owners

Graves (Cumberland) Ltd currently own the building and have planning permission for 5 years to replace the theatre with retail and residential units. Graves own many different assets across

including cinemas, bingo halls and in the past they owned and ran a number of theatres.

The future of the theatre

The Workington Opera House is now under threat of

demolition Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...

to be replaced with retail units and

flats Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

. The ''Save Workington Opera House'' group are fighting to have this building made available to the town of

as a working civic theatre that the community can be proud of.

Specifications

*Capacities: **Original: 1,330 **After 1950: 1,219 *Listings: **Grade not listed *Stage type: **

Proscenium 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 ...

*Dimensions **Stage dimensions: ***Depth: 9.14m ***Proscenium width: 11m ***Height to grid: 14m ***

Orchestra pit An orchestra pit is the area in a theater (usually located in a lowered area in front of the stage) in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music (such as opera and ballet) or in cases when incide ...

: Original, for 16 musicians

References

External links

workingtonoperahouse.co.uk

OperaAction.co.uk

Opera House (Workington)-Theatres Trust

{{coord, 54.6438, -3.5443, display=title, region:GB_scale:5000 Theatres in Cumbria Theatres in Workington Theatres completed in 1930 Opera houses in England Art Deco architecture in England Theatres completed in 1888 Music venues completed in 1888