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This is my first trip report with pictures! I apologise in advance for the not so good quality of the pics, but I am learning...
On Friday Feb 13 I went on a guided tour of the Grand theatre. I arrived at West St car park and gazed up at the lovely tower...I realised after I had taken it that my camera was set to close up mode!! Hehe
Then we made our way down the stairs and on to the lovely Grand Theatre across the road. Often called Matchams masterpiece, the Grand was built in 1894. Five years later the prolific architect Frank Matcham also completed the tower ballroom. As I paused to take the picture and admire the exterior, I was oblivious of the crowd of people and tour guide gathered inside the foyer waiting for us so they could begin the tour...oops
Plans to demolish the building became known in 1972, but thanks to a campaign launched by theatre-goers it was saved! It is now a grade 2 listed building.
If you book tickets to a show and purchase the cheapest seats, you may have this view...
It is very steep up there! And there are no backs to the chairs up there either, just benches!! I felt a little queasy because I dont like heights!!
We had a great view of the gorgeous ceiling...
The theatre is called Matchams masterpiece because he basically was given free reign on the design!
Can you see the bust of Shakespeare? He is facing the audience because he always liked to see the responce of the crowd...
On the other wall, there is a bust of Handel, but he is facing the stage, as he liked to keep an eye on the orchestra!
If you want to book a royal box it is the same price as the stalls, but the view of the stage is terrible, its side on and you miss a lot. However, I was shocked at just how much of the audience you see from the box! The seats actually face out to the crowd, you can see every seat in the house, so I guess the royal box is only good for posing in!!! If you care to book one, you must pay for all seats in there....
The windows are amazing! They are original!!! Hand painted and triple glazed, every one is slighly different even though they are supposed to match, brilliant!
The chandeliers have to be hand wound down from within the loft area, it takes 30 minutes to wind down to the ground, and then 30 minutes back up. They wait until 5 or 6 bulbs go before they bring them down to change, and then they change all of them at once. When we visited 6 were out so they were due to be changed.
We got to go backstage and this is the view from the stage, I was surprised at how sloping the stage is! It goes higher towards the back so all seats get a good view. Can you see the bench type seats at the very top?
Well thats just a small selection of pictures and interesting facts, there was plenty more, but I dont want to ramble on too much... I highly recommend a trip if this is the sort of thing that interests you. I love old buildings, anything old and notalgic really! (apart from old men)
On Friday Feb 13 I went on a guided tour of the Grand theatre. I arrived at West St car park and gazed up at the lovely tower...I realised after I had taken it that my camera was set to close up mode!! Hehe
Then we made our way down the stairs and on to the lovely Grand Theatre across the road. Often called Matchams masterpiece, the Grand was built in 1894. Five years later the prolific architect Frank Matcham also completed the tower ballroom. As I paused to take the picture and admire the exterior, I was oblivious of the crowd of people and tour guide gathered inside the foyer waiting for us so they could begin the tour...oops
Plans to demolish the building became known in 1972, but thanks to a campaign launched by theatre-goers it was saved! It is now a grade 2 listed building.
If you book tickets to a show and purchase the cheapest seats, you may have this view...
It is very steep up there! And there are no backs to the chairs up there either, just benches!! I felt a little queasy because I dont like heights!!
We had a great view of the gorgeous ceiling...
The theatre is called Matchams masterpiece because he basically was given free reign on the design!
Can you see the bust of Shakespeare? He is facing the audience because he always liked to see the responce of the crowd...
On the other wall, there is a bust of Handel, but he is facing the stage, as he liked to keep an eye on the orchestra!
If you want to book a royal box it is the same price as the stalls, but the view of the stage is terrible, its side on and you miss a lot. However, I was shocked at just how much of the audience you see from the box! The seats actually face out to the crowd, you can see every seat in the house, so I guess the royal box is only good for posing in!!! If you care to book one, you must pay for all seats in there....
The windows are amazing! They are original!!! Hand painted and triple glazed, every one is slighly different even though they are supposed to match, brilliant!
The chandeliers have to be hand wound down from within the loft area, it takes 30 minutes to wind down to the ground, and then 30 minutes back up. They wait until 5 or 6 bulbs go before they bring them down to change, and then they change all of them at once. When we visited 6 were out so they were due to be changed.
We got to go backstage and this is the view from the stage, I was surprised at how sloping the stage is! It goes higher towards the back so all seats get a good view. Can you see the bench type seats at the very top?
Well thats just a small selection of pictures and interesting facts, there was plenty more, but I dont want to ramble on too much... I highly recommend a trip if this is the sort of thing that interests you. I love old buildings, anything old and notalgic really! (apart from old men)
Yes we went for lunch, and the service was sloooow... The windows are from when the theatre was built in 1894!