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Hulme Hippodrome
The Hulme Hippodrome in Manchester, England, is a shuttered Grade II listed building, a proscenium arch theatre with two galleries and a side hall. It was originally known as the Grand Junction Theatre and Floral Hall, and opened on 7 October 1901 on the former main road of Preston Street, Hulme, (now Clopton Walk) and with stage access is from Warwick Street. The Hulme Hippodrome theatre is located in the same building and shares a party wall with its small sibling theatre, The Playhouse. The Hippodrome was a music hall and variety theatre, a repertory theatre in the 1940s, and hired on Sundays for recording BBC programmes with live audiences between 1950 and 1956. In the 1960s and 1970s it was a bingo hall, and from 2003 used by a disgraced church. The theatre has been closed since 2018 and a campaign group exists to bring it back into use as a community resource, where the current owner is seeking permission to build apartments. Its local name in memoirs and records is 'Hulme Hipp'. Its national heritage significance includes being the venue for live recording the first three series of BBC programmes by the comedians Morecambe and Wise.
The Hippodrome and the conjoined smaller Playhouse Theatre in the same building were built at roughly the same time (1901, 1902) and they were part of the circuit of 17 theatres owned by William Henry Broadhead (1848-1931) located mostly in working class urban areas across North West England. The two venues were reportedly connected by an arcade (some researchers question this feature existed, but it has been confirmed in official files though small in scale). The extensive building was Broadhead's company headquarters. Various architectural drawings for the building exist in public archives, not all of which correspond with the eventual constructed form of the building. The architect was Joseph John Alley (1841–1912), however W.H. Broadhead had previously made his money as a builder and is suggested in research to have had a strong influence in the design and construction. The rectangular shape of the auditorium and the seating arranged in straight lines were distinctive to the Broadhead-built theatres. The frontage includes ornamentation with white glazed-brick bandings and pilaster strips, with (now faded) painted lettering. The motto of the Broadhead circuit was, "Quick, Clean, Smart and Bright".
The property footprint is 1685 square metres (18,135 square feet, 0.4 acres); two and three storeys (15m height) plus a basement. The whole building footprint (both theatres) is 2506 square metres (26,975 square feet). The size of the building means that during heavy rain (8mm/hr) 20,000 litres of water (4,300 gallons) needs to be channelled and drained off the roof space per hour. The external ground measurements here are by wheel and by brick count for height. A recent and accurate 'measured survey' of the property is not known of, and permission to survey inside has been declined.
Since around 1965 onwards the Hippodrome has "lost its original relationship to the street network" because of the substantial 'slum' or area clearances in Hulme and across the inner city neighbourhoods of Manchester and Salford generally.
The Hulme Hippodrome frontage was originally on a main shopping street, Preston Street, and the theatre faced a T-junction being an imposing landmark at the end of Clopton Street, a main road that headed north towards the city centre (Ellis Street follows it part-way now). The theatre was served by trams and buses, including the 62 bus route from Heaton Park via Albert Square to Chorlton, and people from north Manchester would reportedly regularly attend the performances, including children from Prestwich travelling independently by this direct bus.
The roads were removed ('stopped up') in the problematic 1960s urban regeneration, around 1965. Clopton Street became Clopton Walk, a footpath going north towards the new Hulme Crescents. In the 1990s urban regeneration phase the Crescents were demolished and Clopton Walk was reduced in length. Outside the frontage of Hulme Hippodrome today are three footpaths and two cul-de-sacs that meet in a small semi-paved square, almost a courtyard, where Preston Street and Clopton Street were sited previously.
Some of the older postcodes used for the building are no longer officially recognised, for example M15 5JJ, M15 5UP and M15 5FT.
In terms of its current relationship to the street network, the Hipp has theatre doors on a remaining eastern boundary cul-de-sac of Warwick Street, M15 5EU. The original tall stage doors, now partially bricked up, are an easy 'get in' and 'get out' for scenery because the pavement (sidewalk) was level with the stage. This meant that the raked seats in the stalls were at street level at the back (off Wilberforce Close) and slanted down to reach basement level at the front row (off Warwick Street).
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Hulme Hippodrome
The Hulme Hippodrome in Manchester, England, is a shuttered Grade II listed building, a proscenium arch theatre with two galleries and a side hall. It was originally known as the Grand Junction Theatre and Floral Hall, and opened on 7 October 1901 on the former main road of Preston Street, Hulme, (now Clopton Walk) and with stage access is from Warwick Street. The Hulme Hippodrome theatre is located in the same building and shares a party wall with its small sibling theatre, The Playhouse. The Hippodrome was a music hall and variety theatre, a repertory theatre in the 1940s, and hired on Sundays for recording BBC programmes with live audiences between 1950 and 1956. In the 1960s and 1970s it was a bingo hall, and from 2003 used by a disgraced church. The theatre has been closed since 2018 and a campaign group exists to bring it back into use as a community resource, where the current owner is seeking permission to build apartments. Its local name in memoirs and records is 'Hulme Hipp'. Its national heritage significance includes being the venue for live recording the first three series of BBC programmes by the comedians Morecambe and Wise.
The Hippodrome and the conjoined smaller Playhouse Theatre in the same building were built at roughly the same time (1901, 1902) and they were part of the circuit of 17 theatres owned by William Henry Broadhead (1848-1931) located mostly in working class urban areas across North West England. The two venues were reportedly connected by an arcade (some researchers question this feature existed, but it has been confirmed in official files though small in scale). The extensive building was Broadhead's company headquarters. Various architectural drawings for the building exist in public archives, not all of which correspond with the eventual constructed form of the building. The architect was Joseph John Alley (1841–1912), however W.H. Broadhead had previously made his money as a builder and is suggested in research to have had a strong influence in the design and construction. The rectangular shape of the auditorium and the seating arranged in straight lines were distinctive to the Broadhead-built theatres. The frontage includes ornamentation with white glazed-brick bandings and pilaster strips, with (now faded) painted lettering. The motto of the Broadhead circuit was, "Quick, Clean, Smart and Bright".
The property footprint is 1685 square metres (18,135 square feet, 0.4 acres); two and three storeys (15m height) plus a basement. The whole building footprint (both theatres) is 2506 square metres (26,975 square feet). The size of the building means that during heavy rain (8mm/hr) 20,000 litres of water (4,300 gallons) needs to be channelled and drained off the roof space per hour. The external ground measurements here are by wheel and by brick count for height. A recent and accurate 'measured survey' of the property is not known of, and permission to survey inside has been declined.
Since around 1965 onwards the Hippodrome has "lost its original relationship to the street network" because of the substantial 'slum' or area clearances in Hulme and across the inner city neighbourhoods of Manchester and Salford generally.
The Hulme Hippodrome frontage was originally on a main shopping street, Preston Street, and the theatre faced a T-junction being an imposing landmark at the end of Clopton Street, a main road that headed north towards the city centre (Ellis Street follows it part-way now). The theatre was served by trams and buses, including the 62 bus route from Heaton Park via Albert Square to Chorlton, and people from north Manchester would reportedly regularly attend the performances, including children from Prestwich travelling independently by this direct bus.
The roads were removed ('stopped up') in the problematic 1960s urban regeneration, around 1965. Clopton Street became Clopton Walk, a footpath going north towards the new Hulme Crescents. In the 1990s urban regeneration phase the Crescents were demolished and Clopton Walk was reduced in length. Outside the frontage of Hulme Hippodrome today are three footpaths and two cul-de-sacs that meet in a small semi-paved square, almost a courtyard, where Preston Street and Clopton Street were sited previously.
Some of the older postcodes used for the building are no longer officially recognised, for example M15 5JJ, M15 5UP and M15 5FT.
In terms of its current relationship to the street network, the Hipp has theatre doors on a remaining eastern boundary cul-de-sac of Warwick Street, M15 5EU. The original tall stage doors, now partially bricked up, are an easy 'get in' and 'get out' for scenery because the pavement (sidewalk) was level with the stage. This meant that the raked seats in the stalls were at street level at the back (off Wilberforce Close) and slanted down to reach basement level at the front row (off Warwick Street).
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