Newcastle, Newgate Street, Empire Palace Theatre

HER Number:
10360

District:
Newcastle

Site Name:
Newcastle, Newgate Street, Empire Palace Theatre

Place:
Newcastle

Map Sheet:
NZ26SW

Class:
Recreational

Site Type: Broad:
Music Speech and Dance Venue

Site Type: Specific:
Theatre

General Period:
Early Modern

Specific Period:
C19

Form of Evidence:
Documentary Evidence

Description:
Oliver and Leeson's concert hall addition to the Scotch Arms Hotel. The hotel had had a concert hall added to it since the 1870s. It reopened in 1890 as the first of the Moss 'Empires' in England. At ground level the essential medieval pattern of courts and building plots was maintained, with a lane running through the length of the site. The site was then redeveloped by Frank Matcham. The final building opened on 14 September 1903. The threatre worked in conjunction with the adjoining Empire Cinema (HER 12835). The theatre closed on 25 June 1963 and was demolished to make way for a hotel, shops and offices (Newgate Shopping Centre).

Easting:
2469

Northing:
6415

Grid Reference:
NZ24696415

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
Ordnance Survey Second Edition of 1896; The End of the Empire, Evening Chronice, Feb 2010; Simpson & Brown Architects, 2009, Newgate Centre & 67 Clayton Street - Heritage Assessment; TWAS, Empire Theatre plans and drawings; The Archaeological Practice Ltd., 2015, Newgate Street, Newcastle upon Tyne - Archaeological Assessment