Grand Theatre

The Grand Theatre stood on the corner of Windsor Terrace and Civic Centre Road in Southampton. Built in 1898, it included parts of 18th-century buildings on its east side. Designed by architects William Hope and J. C. Maxwell, the theatre was constructed in red brick with terracotta details in a French Renaissance style. Its entrance featured a balustrade and a central tower topped with a domed lantern lit by a purple light. The building was owned by Frederick Mouillot and H. H. 'Mackenzie' Morell, who ran their own touring theatrical company. The theatre opened on 5 December 1898 with a performance of *The Little Minister* by Frederick Harrison, staged by Cyril Maude’s company. Its horseshoe-shaped auditorium seated 1,800 patrons across two tiers, with a Circle and Gallery above. The stage rose 53 feet to the grid and extended 37 feet deep, supported by a large scene dock and properties room below. Notable performers included Sarah Bernhardt, Henry Irving, Ellen Terry, and a young Peter Cushing, who appeared in Alfred Denville’s repertory productions during the 1930s. The Grand Theatre became the New Hippodrome in 1939 before closing in 1940. During the war it housed soldiers, and after renovations it returned to hosting dramas. As audiences declined in the 1950s, it shifted to striptease shows before closing in 1959 and being demolished in 1960. The site later became Marland House, an office block replaced by student accommodation in 2016.