Pavilion Theatre, Torquay

The Pavilion Theatre was a theatre in Torquay, Devon, England. It was one of the three main auditoriums in Torbay, 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. It is a Grade II listed building.^[1]

The new municipal borough council decided to make a series of improvements after Torquay was made a municipal borough in 1892.^[2] In the late 19th century the Borough Engineer of Torbay, Henry Augustus Garrett, started to lay 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, who laid the foundation stone in 1890.^[3]

Part of its site was on land reclaimed from the sea, and it was built on a concrete raft on which a steel framework was erected. The Pavilion's architect was Edward Rogers, who drew up the final plans with H. C. 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 officially opened by the mayor, Charles Towell, on Saturday 17 August 1912.^[4][5]

The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of five bays facing onto Vaughan Road. The central bay featured a segmental headed entrance with an iron canopy; on the first floor there was a Diocletian window flanked by pairs of Doric order pilasters supporting a gable. The outer bays contained curved structures fenestrated by round headed windows and surmounted by copper domes. The building was faced with white tiles made of Doulton's Carrara-enamelled stoneware. Its central copper-covered dome was topped with a life-size figure of Britannia and two smaller domes on each side bear figures of Mercury. Finely sculpted Art Nouveau-style cast iron edged the steps to the promenade deck and the octagonal bandstands or summer houses.^[6]

Apart from the foyer and auditorium, 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.^[7]

The council proposed demolishing the building in 1973, but it was listed in the same year. It closed in 1976, when it was leased to Rank Organisation and the interior was destroyed in adaptations for various types of amusements, first as a skating rink and then, in the 1980s, as a shopping arcade. As of July 2020, it was closed awaiting restoration; the steel girders which form its framework were heavily corroded.^[7] Torbay Council had leased the building to Marina Developments Ltd but that lease was ended in November 2024.^[8]

In May 2025, the Victorian Society included the building in its list of the 10 most endangered buildings in the country.^[9][10]

Shows included:^[11]

Media related to Torquay Pavilion at Wikimedia Commons

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