This Grade II listed assembly hall has been sensitively restored and dramatically extended in a striking new building.The original hall and new facilities are separated by a top-lit four storey linear atrium foyer, traversed by slender bridges which connect the balcony levels with the new bars, toilets, stairs and lifts.
Terracotta cladding was selected to respond to the new building’s brick neighbours and reflect Stoke’s pottery-making tradition. Backstage facilities have also been enlarged and improved, imaginatively incorporating the adjoining sessional court’s cell block within the backstage accommodation.
The scheme was one of fifteen chosen for the joint CABE/English Heritage publication ‘Building in Context’ to represent the best examples of designing in historic areas.
A sensitive but striking restoration of a historic assembly hall.