Frank Matcham (born 22 November 1854, Newton Abbot, Devon - died 17 May 1920, Southend-on-Sea, Essex) was a famous English theatrical architect 1854 (MDCCCLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Location within the British Isles Newton Abbot is a market town in Devon , England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580 (2001 census). ... Devon is a large county in South West England, bordered by Cornwall to the west, Dorset and Somerset to the east. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 3 - Babe Ruth is traded by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees for $125,000, the largest sum ever paid for a player at that time. ... Southend-on-Sea is a resort town in Essex, England. ... Essex is a county in the East of England. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect is a person involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction. ...

Career

Matcham and two architects he helped to train, Bertie Crewe and W.G.R. Sprague, were together responsible for the majority - certainly more than 200 - of the theatres and variety palaces of the great building boom which took place in Britain between about 1890 and 1915, peaking at the turn of the century. Bertie Crewe (died 10 January 1937 in London) was one of the leading theatre designers of the UK in the boom of 1885 to 1915 // Partly trained by Frank Matcham, Crewe and his contemporaries W.G.R. Sprague and Thomas Verity, were together responsible for the majority - certainly more than... Aldwych Theatre W.G.R. Sprague (born 1863 in Australia; died 1933 in Maidenhead) was a theatre designer in the grand age. ...

Matcham himself designed Blackpool Grand Theatre and the Wakefield Theatre Royal and Opera House in 1894, as well as Buxton Opera House and the Royal Hall (Kursaal), Harrogate in 1903. He also designed several famous London theatres: the Hackney Empire (1901), the London Coliseum (1904), the London Palladium (1910), and the Victoria Palace (1911). Blackpool Grand Theatre is probably the oldest and best-known theatre in the town of Blackpool, England. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Buxton Opera House is in The Square, Buxton, Derbyshire. ... Harrogate is a large town in North Yorkshire, England. ... 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... Serge Sudeikins poster for the Bat Theatre (1922). ... Hackney Empire The Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, Hackney. ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The London Coliseum The Coliseum Theatre is one of Londons largest and best equipped theatres, opening in 1904. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The London Palladium in 2004 The London Palladium is one of the most famous of Londons West End theatres. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... The Victoria Palace Theatre during the 2002 season, showing Cole Porters 1948 musical comedy Kiss Me, Kate Victoria Palace Theatre in 2005, showing Billy Elliott The Victoria Palace Theatre is a theatre in Victoria Street, London, England. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ...

Matcham is remembered in Northern Ireland for his design of the Grand Opera House (opened December 1895) on Great Victoria Street, Belfast. In Douglas, Isle of Man he is famed for the design of the Gaiety Theatre, which survives to this day. Motto: [citation needed] (French for God and my right)2 Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official language(s) English (de facto), Irish, Ulster Scots 3, NI Sign Language Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair... The Grand Opera House The Grand Opera House is a theatre in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... Douglas (also spelled Douglass) is a masculine given name. ...

Matcham also designed theatres in Scotland: in Aberdeen, there were His Majesty's Theatre, built in 1904 to replace the Tivoli Theatre - the Tivoli was originally known as Her Majesty's Theatre, opened in 1872 to the designs of C.J. Phipps, and was subject to alterations by Matcham in 1897, followed by a complete interior rebuild by him in 1909. Both theatres still survive in Aberdeen, although the Tivoli is sadly disused after a spell as a bingo hall. In Edinburgh, he designed the Empire Palace Theatre, opened in 1892, and he also rebuilt it after a fire in 1911. It was subsequently demolished and rebuilt in 1927/8, this time to the designs of Newcastle architects Milburn and Milburn, and still stands today, having been refurbished after a time as a bingo hall, as the Edinburgh Festival Theatre, albeit with a modern glass facade built in 1994. Over in Glasgow, he designed the King's Theatre in Bath Street in 1904, which happily also still entertains citizens of that city today. Motto: (Eng: No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots 2 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen of the UK Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by... For other uses, see Aberdeen (disambiguation). ... A perfomance at Opera House, Haymarket, predecessor of Her Majestys Theatre in circa 1808. ... The Tivoli Theatre, Guild Street, Aberdeen opened in 1872 as Her Majestys Theatre and was built by the Aberdeen Theatre and Opera House Company Ltd, under architects James Matthews of Aberdeen and C.B. Phipps, a London-based architect brought in to consult. ... Edinburgh (pronounced ; Dùn Èideann () in Scottish Gaelic) is the capital of Scotland and its second-largest city. ... The Edinburgh Festival Theatre is a performing arts venue located on Nicolson Street in Edinburgh Scotland used primarily for performances of opera and ballet, large-scale musical events, and touring groups. ... For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ...

One unusual commission, built around 1900, is the three blocks in Briggate, Leeds, that are today known as the Victoria Quarter. Matcham's Empire Palace Theatre, which was the centre-piece of the design, was demolished in the 1960s, but his surviving exteriors and the impressive County Arcade have been refurbished to a high standard. Briggate, Leeds Briggate is a shopping street in Leeds, England. ... Statistics Population: 443,247 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SE297338 Administration Metropolitan borough: City of Leeds Metropolitan county: West Yorkshire Region: Yorkshire and the Humber Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: West Yorkshire Historic county: Yorkshire (West Riding) Services Police force: West Yorkshire Police Ambulance service... Victoria Quarter is an upmarket shopping arcade in Leeds, United Kingdom. ...

Preserving the legacy

In 1982 it was estimated that 85% of the theatres that had lit up British towns and cities in 1914 had been lost - 35 of them, including 20 of Matcham's, in London alone. John Betjeman^[1] and Simon Jenkins had spoken up for such architects of Victorian and Edwardian parish churches as the Gilbert Scotts, JL Pearson and GE Street, but few had heard of theatre architects such as Matcham, Bertie Crewes, CJ Phipps, W.G.R. Sprague and Walter Emden. Sir John Betjeman CBE (28 August 1906–19 May 1984) was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Whos Who as a poet and hack. He was born to a middle-class family in Edwardian London. ... Sir Simon Jenkins (born June 10, 1943) is a British newspaper columnist currently associated with The Guardian after fifteen years with News International titles. ... Manchester Town Hall is an example of Victorian architecture found in Manchester, UK. The term Victorian architecture can refer to one of a number of architectural styles predominantly in the Victorian era. ... The Edwardian period or Edwardian era in the United Kingdom is the period 1901 to 1910, the reign of King Edward VII. It is sometimes extended to include the period to the start of World War I in 1914 or even the end of the war in 1918. ... Gilbert Scott may refer to several of a family of British architects: Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811 - 1878), who was principally known for his architectural designs for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and St Pancras Station George Gilbert Scott Junior (1839 - 1897), son of the above Sir Giles Gilbert Scott... John Loughborough Pearson (1817-1897) was a 19th century architect renowned for his work on churches and cathedrals. ... George Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), English architect, was born at Woodford in Essex. ... Aldwych Theatre W.G.R. Sprague (born 1863 in Australia; died 1933 in Maidenhead) was a theatre designer in the grand age. ...

That gross neglect came to an end with one too many proposed ruthless destructions: the Granville Theatre in Walham Green, in 1971, where the Greater London Council stepped in to stop a developer. This incident brought about the formation of the Frank Matcham Society, and the beginning of the preservation of our theatrical heritage^[2]. Arms of the Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. ...

References

1. ^ John Betjeman was instrumental in saving Wilton's Music Hall in 1964
2. ^ David McKie - Give them a big hand The Guardian July 29, 2004 accessed 7 November 2006

Wiltons Music Hall is a grade II* listed building, a former Music hall and performance space in Graces Alley, off Cable Street in Stepney, London, England. ...

External links

• Frank Matcham Society
• Theatres built by Frank Matcham
• Frank Matcham page