Opera House, Royal Tunbridge Wells

The Opera House stands in the centre of Royal Tunbridge Wells, a town known for its Georgian architecture and Victorian promenade. Built in 1902 to designs by John Priestley Briggs, the building mixes Edwardian Baroque and Neo-Georgian styles. Its exterior features a Baroque dome, once topped by a statue of Mercury that was removed in the 1920s. Inside, an 18th-century painting of revellers was added to the staircase in 1923. The building has served many roles since opening. It began as an opera house with space for 1,100 people. In 1913 it hosted charity concerts to rebuild a cricket pavilion damaged in a suffragette arson attack. After becoming a cinema in the 1930s, it suffered bomb damage during the Second World War, which led to a major renovation and reopening in 1949. Today it operates as a pub run by J D Wetherspoon. The pub still hosts occasional opera performances, including Handel’s Tamerlano in 2006. The Merry Opera Company from Kent now stages annual productions such as The Magic Flute and La traviata. The interior retains its Edwardian grandeur, making it a notable landmark in the town.