Listed Building record MDR11453 - Hippodrome Theatre, Green Lane, Derby

Green Lane, Hippodrome Theatre, by Marshall & Tweedy, 1913-14. (1) The Hippodrome Theatre was originally a Variety Theatre, now a Bingo Hall, built in 1914, by Marshall and Tweedy, with minor late 20th century alterations. It is built from red brick, rendered and painted below canopy level, with terracotta dressings and a Welsh slate roof. It is rectangular in form with the principal entrance into main foyer at the north-east corner. The entry bay has 2 pairs of double doors flanked by double pilasters. The interior is substantially complete with stalls remodelled in the late 20th century, but 2 curved balconies above carry tiered seating for circle and upper circle. There is a Stage with a rectangular proscenium arch surmounted by a giant segmental pediment motif framing a garland. Flanking the arch at circle level are single boxes framed by giant pilasters which carry serpentine pediments. There is richly-decorated plasterwork to the balcony fronts, proscenium and ceiling, the latter with circular moulding set into a square frame. The orchestra pit, scenery grid and projection room survive, as does the ceiling plasterwork to the foyer, although concealed beneath a lower, later ceiling. This is a complete early 20th century variety theatre, which represents a significant stage in the evolution of the building type which became the dominant design for cinema construction in the late 1920s. (2)