The Pavilion Theatre was a theatre in

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. It was one of the three main auditoriums in

Torbay Torbay is a unitary authority with a borough status in the ceremonial county of Devon, England. It is governed by Torbay Council, based in the town of Torquay, and also includes the towns of Paignton and Brixham. The borough consists of ...

, and during the 1970s differed from the Princess Theatre, Torquay, and the Festival Theatre, Paignton, in that it had plays rather than variety shows during the lucrative summer seasons.

Building

From 1890 to 1930, the Borough Engineer of Torbay, Henry Augustus Garrett, laid out the Princess Gardens, the Terrace Walk, Pier Pavilion and Torquay Pavilion on Torquay seafront. The Gardens were named in honour of Queen Victoria's daughter,

Princess Louise Princess Louise may refer to: People * Louise of Denmark (disambiguation), various princesses * Louise of Prussia (disambiguation), various princesses * Louise of Saxe-Meiningen (disambiguation), various princesses * Princess Louise of Schleswig-H ...

, who laid the foundation stone in 1890. The Pavilion's architect was Edward Rogers, who drew up the final plans with HC Goss. The plans were passed in 1903, but construction did not start until 1911 due to Rogers’ death, and the work was taken over by Garrett. The Pavilion was built in 1911, followed by a war memorial in 1920 and finally the Princess Theatre was completed in the 1950s. Part of its site is on land reclaimed from the sea, and it was built on a concrete raft on which a steel framework was erected. It is faced with white tiles made of Doulton's Carrara-enamelled

stoneware Stoneware is a broad class of pottery fired at a relatively high temperature, to be impervious to water. A modern definition is a Vitrification#Ceramics, vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refractory fire ...

. Its central copper-covered dome is topped with a life-size figure of

Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...

and two smaller domes on each side bear figures of Mercury. Finely sculpted

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

-style

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

edges the steps to the promenade deck and the octagonal

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an ornamen ...

s or

summer house A summer house or summerhouse is a building or shelter used for relaxation in warm weather. This would often take the form of a small, roofed building on the grounds of a larger one, but could also be built in a garden or park, often designed t ...

s. The Pavilion opened on Saturday 17 August 1912 and apart from the

foyer A lobby is a room in a building used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer, entryway, reception area or entrance hall, it is often a large room or complex of rooms (in a theatre, opera house, concert hall, showroom, cine ...

and

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoriums can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and t ...

, it had lounges and a cafe, all of which were panelled with oak. A municipal orchestra was founded and many famous conductors and singers performed here. It was proposed to demolish the building in 1973, but was listed in the same year. It closed in 1976, when it was leased to

Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation (founded as the J. Arthur Rank Organisation) is a British entertainment conglomerate founded in 1937 by industrialist J. Arthur Rank. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the Uni ...

and the interior was destroyed in adaptations for various types of amusements, first as a skating rink and in the 1980s as a

shopping arcade An arcade is a succession of contiguous arches, with each arch supported by a colonnade of columns or piers. Exterior arcades are designed to provide a sheltered walkway for pedestrians; they include many loggias, but here arches are not an esse ...

. As of July 2020, it is closed awaiting restoration; the steel girders which form its framework are heavily corroded. It has

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

status.

Torbay Council Torbay Council is the local authority for Torbay, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Devon, England. Since 1998 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a count ...

had leased the building to Marina Developments Ltd but that lease was ended in November 2024.

Shows

Over the years the theatre entertained millions of people. In the last few years of its existence it was simultaneously known as the Rainbow Pavilion for pop music concerts. Selective shows:

References

External links

Theatres Trust
{{coord, 50.4609, -3.5267, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Buildings and structures in Torquay Theatres in Devon Domes in the United Kingdom Art Nouveau architecture in England Grade II listed buildings in Devon