Listed Building record MDO28550 - Boscombe Hippodrome, Christchurch Road, Boscombe, Bournemouth

Theatre, designed by Lawson and Donkin for Archibald Beckett, was built in 1893-95 as part of a development including the Boscombe Arcade and Salisbury Hotel (demolished 1965). It is constructed from red brick with stone dressings and slate roofs. It was renovated in 2007.

Theatre. 1893-5, Lawson and Donkin for Archibald Beckett; altered in circa 1908. Red brick with stone dressings; slate roofs. PLAN: Built as part of a development that included the adjacent Royal Arcade [qv] and The Salisbury Hotel [demolished 1965]. Behind shops on Christchurch Road there is a foyer, stairs and billiard hall over the shops and a large auditorium with two U-shaped balconies, the lower of which has a promenade running behind Dutch Renaissance style. EXTERIOR: South front facing Christchurch Road; 2 storeys. Ground storey shops with later fascias applied and central theatre entrance with canopy. 2:3 bays above divided by pilasters and cornices and with tall plastered windows and Dutch gables with urns and balustrade parapets between; the left 2 bays have 3-light mullion-transom windows with segmental heads and carved stone panels and small attic windows above; the right 3 bays have 3 tall mullion-transom windows with round heads, the centre one foiled. INTERIOR: An unusual auditorium with the character of an earlier music hall. Around the stalls is a shallow U-shaped balcony carried on iron columns with a semi-circular end and straight sides, the balcony front an openwork iron balustrade with acanthus leaf decoration. Tall thin iron columns rise from the front of the balcony to support the ceiling with decorated openwork iron spandrels. A wide promenade runs around the back of the balcony. Above the promenade, supported on another ring of columns, is a second shallower balcony set back behind the arcade. The bench seating in the balconies survives but the stall seats have been removed. The balconies originally ran straight up to the proscenium wall, but in circa 1908 paired boxes were installed on either side in Baroque plasterwork and the proscenium was rebuilt. From the foyer at the front staircases with cast-iron balusters give access to the balconies and the large billiard hall over the shops. SOURCES: Brereton,C. Curtains [inventory], published 1982. Mate,C.H. and Riddle,C. Bournemouth 1810-1910 pp 155 and 212 Popham, D. and R. The Book of Bournemouth, pp 84 and 108. Young, D. The Storey of Bournemouth, pp 149-150. (1)

Theatre which was built in 1893-95 as part of a development including the Boscombe Arcade and Salisbury Hotel (demolished 1965). It was designed by Lawson and Donkin for Archibald Beckett is constructed from red brick with stone dressings and slate roofs. The auditorium of the theatre is unusual in that it has the character of an earlier music hall. Around the flat main floor is a shallow balcony carried on iron columns with a semi-circular end and straight side arms and an open-work iron balustrade incorporating acanthus leaf decoration. A wide promenade runs round the rear of the balcony, above which, carried on a further ring of columns, is a second, shallower balcony set behind the arcade. The galleries originally ran straight up to the proscenium wall, but in 1910 a range of paired boxes was put in either side. At the same time the proscenium was reconstructed. In December 1982 it reopened as The Academy night-club, later the Opera House night-club and now the O2 Academy. (2)

<1> Department of the Environment, 15-Feb-1994, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: Borough of Bournemouth amendment 1994 (Scheduling record). SWX4461.

<2> The Theatres Trust Guide to British Theatres 1750-1950: A Gazetteer, 21-22 (Bibliographic reference). SWX4462.

<3> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1350652 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Nov 9 2023 4:12PM