Victoria Theatre, Salford

The Victoria Theatre, Salford, is a Grade II listed former theatre and cinema in the Lower Broughton area of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. Situated on Great Clowes Street at the corner of Elton Street, it was designed by the theatre architect Bertie Crewe for The Broughton Theatres Syndicate Ltd and built as a producing house for opera and Shakespeare. The foundation stone was laid on 4 October 1899 by Sir Henry Irving, accompanied by Bram Stoker, and the theatre officially opened on 10 December 1900 with a production of "Sign of the Cross." The original capacity was 2,000 seated, increased to 3,000 in 1910. The building is noted for its red terracotta façade, stained glass, intimate auditorium with richly scrolled plasterwork, and rare surviving wooden sub-stage machinery, believed to be the only complete surviving example of its kind in the UK. Over its long history the Victoria shifted between live performance and cinema. It began showing films as early as November 1901 and obtained a cinema licence in 1913; during its cinema years films were back-projected, with budget seats behind the screen. It returned to live performance in 1917, resumed cinema operations in 1919, and remained predominantly a cinema until closure in July 1958. It then served as a clothing and furniture store, with occasional repertory and pantomime performances, before brief and then successful use as a bingo hall from the 1970s until 2008. It was listed Grade II on 18 January 1980. Palatial Leisure Limited closed the bingo hall in 2008 and sold the building in September 2018. Today the theatre is the subject of a community-driven restoration campaign led by the Salford Victoria Theatre Trust (SVTT). The trust aims to reanimate the theatre as a vibrant space for creativity, education, and civic pride, serving Salford's diverse communities. Its board includes Salford-born chair Sam Kelly, who has worked to promote a restoration project for The Victoria since 2015. The trust runs oral history, volunteering, and fundraising initiatives, and the building remains on the Theatres Trust's Theatre Buildings at Risk register.

The Victoria Theatre, Salford, was conceived in 1899 by The Broughton Theatres Syndicate Ltd, the same syndicate that controlled the Regent Theatre on Cross Lane, Salford. They commissioned the renowned theatre architect Bertie Crewe to design a producing house for opera and Shakespeare on Great Clowes Street in Lower Broughton. The foundation stone was laid on 4 October 1899 by Sir Henry Irving, the most celebrated actor of his generation, accompanied by his friend and manager, the author Bram Stoker. Also in attendance were Bertie Crewe, the Civic Mayor of Salford Samuel Rudman, Frederick Platt-Higgins (Conservative MP for Salford North), C. V. Haworth (chairman of the syndicate), members of Salford Corporation, and former Civic Mayors Sir W. H. Bailey and Sir Richard Mottram. Crewe presented Irving with a mallet and a silver trowel. In a short speech Irving remarked, "I have always contended that a well-conducted playhouse is a centre of rational recreation, and without rational recreation no community can pretend to have its facultics in proper order." The theatre opened on 10 December 1900 with the play "Sign of the Cross," performed by William Greet's company, with Edward Vincent as the Prefect and Virginia Buckle as the Christian girl Mercia. The 2,000-seat auditorium spanned three levels – stalls, dress circle, rear circle, and balcony – with four stage boxes. The front was described as "red terra-cotta, divided by Ionic pilasters into five bays," and the foyer as "a hall 34 feet long and 18 feet wide, with marble mosaic floor, walls panelled in fibrous plaster, and hand-painted ceiling." The stage dimensions were recorded as 74 feet wide, 40 feet from curtain line to back wall, 50 feet from stage to grid, and a proscenium opening 30 feet wide. When the theatre's licence was heard by the town council, an amendment to prohibit the sale of intoxicating drink was defeated 32 votes to 25. Less than a year after opening, in November 1901, the theatre began showing films, and in 1913 it was granted a cinema licence. Under owner/managers Messrs J. P. Moore & Montague Beadyn, capacity was increased in 1910 from 2,000 to 3,000. During its cinema years, films were back-projected, with budget seats behind the screen where audiences watched the picture in reverse. From 1917 to 1919 the venue became a theatre once more. In 1919 the theatre consultant Mr. Watson redesigned the auditorium with interior paintings and a Tudor Café, and the theatre became predominantly a cinema again under H. D. Moorhouse, remaining so until closure in July 1958. The owner/managers from 1945 were Broughton Cinemas Ltd. Following the cinema's closure in July 1958, the theatre was used as a clothing and furniture store, with some performances by repertory groups, including Venture Productions, and pantomimes staged during the 1960s. From the mid-1960s until the summer of 1971, the theatre was owned by Salford businessman Councillor Sam Goldberg, who allowed repertory groups such as Venture Productions to put on productions rent-free and used the theatre as winter headquarters for his own Southport Repertory Company. Goldberg tried unsuccessfully to sell the freehold to Salford City Council, hoping it might operate the building as a civic theatre and arts centre; talks stalled after modernisation costs were estimated at about £80,000, and the theatre was running at a loss at the time of Goldberg's death. Councillor Cecil Franks, the chairman, said it was hopeless to try to maintain a "Victorian relic" of this size in its present form. Goldberg died prior to the North Manchester Amateur Operatic Society's production of "The Quaker Girl" (May–June 1971), after which the theatre lay dark. After a brief unsuccessful attempt to run the venue as a bingo hall in 1973, the theatre closed again. It remained dark until the 1980s, when a second attempt was successful and the bingo hall remained open until 2008. The theatre became a Grade II Listed Building on 18 January 1980. During its time as a bingo hall in the 1980s, the building was severely damaged when its third floor was removed and replaced with a less ornate brick wall. Palatial Leisure Limited closed Victoria Bingo Hall in 2008 and subsequently carried out work on the roof; however, urgent repairs were needed to deal with plant growth on the façade, and the front canopy was destroyed after a truck collided with it. In 2012 Palatial Leisure Limited put the theatre on the market for £275,000. That same year the Theatres Trust placed the Victoria Theatre on its Theatre Buildings at Risk (TBAR) register, noting that several original features remained intact, including "substantial remains of wooden sub-stage machinery with paddle levers and the construction for corner traps and four bridges. The grave trap is complete with its platform." A 'Save Victoria Theatre Campaign Meeting' was held on 1 August 2012 at the Robert Powell Theatre. Palatial Leisure Limited sold the building in September 2018. In the 2010s and 2020s, the Salford Victoria Theatre Trust (SVTT) emerged as a community-driven organisation dedicated to the restoration of the theatre as a cultural and heritage asset for public benefit. The trust aims to reanimate the theatre as a vibrant space for creativity, education, and civic pride in Salford. Its board includes Salford-born chair Sam Kelly, who has worked with SVTT to promote a restoration project for The Victoria since 2015. The trust runs oral history, volunteering, and fundraising initiatives, and describes the theatre as a living cultural asset with the ability to connect multiple generations.

• 2018

  Palatial Leisure Limited sold the building in September.

• 2015

  Sam Kelly began working with SVTT to promote a restoration project for The Victoria.

• 2012

  Put on the market for £275,000; placed on Theatres Trust TBAR register; Save Victoria Theatre Campaign Meeting held on 1 August.

• 2008

  Palatial Leisure Limited closed Victoria Bingo Hall.

• 1980

  Became a Grade II Listed Building on 18 January.

• 1973

  Brief unsuccessful attempt to run as a bingo hall.

• 1971

  Theatre lay dark after owner Sam Goldberg's death and a failed sale to Salford City Council.

• 1958

  Closed as a cinema in July; subsequently used as a clothing/furniture store.

• 1919

  Redesigned by consultant Mr. Watson; became predominantly a cinema again under H. D. Moorhouse.

• 1917

  Returned to live performance until 1919.

• 1913

  Granted a cinema licence.

• 1910

  Capacity increased from 2,000 to 3,000.

• 1901

  Began showing films in November, less than a year after opening.

• 1900

  Theatre officially opened on 10 December with "Sign of the Cross."

• 1899

  Foundation stone laid on 4 October by Sir Henry Irving, accompanied by Bram Stoker.

A Grade II listed Victorian theatre being restored as a community-led cultural and heritage asset for Salford.

• Theatre performances

• Cinema screenings

• Bingo hall (former use)

• Community events and oral history project

• Save Victoria Theatre Campaign
• Salford Victoria Theatre Trust restoration campaign

1. 1Home - Salford Victoria Theatre Trustsalfordvictoria.co.uk
2. 2Our History - Salford Victoria Theatre Trustsalfordvictoria.co.uk
3. 3About - Salford Victoria Theatre Trustsalfordvictoria.co.uk
4. 4Victoria Theatre, Salford - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
5. 5Victoria Theatre, Salford - Wikidatawikidata.org