The Alexandra Theatre is an entertainment complex in Market Street,

Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge, Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its population was 24,029 in 2011, and was estimated at 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. The structure, which was commissioned as a

corn exchange A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchanges. Such trade was common in towns ...

and is currently used as a cinema, is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

The building was commissioned as a

by the Newton Abbot

local board A local board of health (or simply a ''local board'') was a local authority in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulat ...

. It formed part of a broader programme of improvements, which also included a new market hall, and, after being authorised by act of parliament in 1868, was facilitated by diverting the

River Lemon The River Lemon is a river in the county of Devon in southwest England. It is a tributary of the River Teign, starting on Dartmoor by Haytor, and ending in Newton Abbot. It rises on the south-east side of Dartmoor near Haytor, joins with the ...

into a

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe (fluid conveyance), pipe, reinforced concrete or other materia ...

. The building was designed by a local architect, John Chudleigh, in the

Italianate style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Ita ...

, built in

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

and was completed in 1871. The design involved a three-stage tower facing west down Market Street. The first stage involved a round headed opening with

voussoir A voussoir ( UK: ; US: ) is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault.“Voussoir, N., Pronunciation.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, June 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/7553486115. Acces ...

s and a keystone surmounted by a date stone. The second stage involved a round headed recess containing an oculus, while the third stage involved a pair of round headed windows. The tower was surmounted by a

modillion A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a Cornice (architecture), cornice which helps to support them. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally transl ...

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

and a shallow

pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

-shaped roof. The side elevations, of five bays on either side, featured tall round headed windows with voussoirs and keystones. The volume of corn changing hands in the town declined significantly in the wake of the Great Depression of British Agriculture in the late 19th century, and, even before it opened, the local board decided to convert the building for public use as the "Alexandra Hall". It was named after Princess

Alexandra of Denmark Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...

who had requested large amounts of Devon lace for the dress she wore at her wedding to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

in March 1863. The building was converted into a theatre with a stage and a

proscenium arch A proscenium (, ) is the virtual 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 itself, which serves as the frame ...

to a design by local architect, Frank Matcham, in 1883. The building was further enhanced by the addition of curved sections with a

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

finish, on either side of the tower, in the early 20th century, and the windows were filled to allow

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

s to be shown in 1920. Further improvements include the installation of a

balcony A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...

and raked seating in 1926. The interior was remodelled to create a new foyer in 1978 and the balcony area was altered to create a second auditorium in 1996. Since then, the building has operated as a theatre supported by the Newton Abbot and District Musical Comedy Society, for three weeks a year, and as a cinema under the management of local operators, Scott Cinemas, for the rest of year. In January 2022,

Teignbridge District Council Teignbridge is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Newton Abbot. The district also includes the towns of Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, Dawlish, Kingsteignton and Teignmouth, along with numerous villa ...

announced proposals to redevelop Newton Abbot town centre: the plans, which would have involved the demolition of the interior of the Alexandra Theatre to create an enlarged market hall, met with strong opposition from local people. The council eventually agreed to modify the proposals to avoid damaging the interior of the theatre.

References

{{reflist Commercial buildings completed in 1871 Cinemas in Devon Newton Abbot Grade II listed buildings in Devon Corn exchanges in England 1871 establishments in England

History

See also

References