place

Joseph Rowntree Theatre

1935 establishments in EnglandArt Deco architecture in EnglandGrade II listed buildings in YorkTheatres completed in 1935Theatres in North Yorkshire
Use British English from July 2026
Joseph Rowntree Theatre York 02
Joseph Rowntree Theatre York 02

The Joseph Rowntree Theatre is a historic theatre on Haxby Road in the north of York, a city in North Yorkshire, England. The theatre was commissioned by the Rowntree's chocolate company, as a facility for its workers, alongside a library, swimming pool and bowling green. It was designed by Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin in the Art Deco style, and was completed in 1935. It was named the "Joseph Rowntree Hall" in memory of Joseph Rowntree, former co-owner of the company, and originally operated as both a theatre and a lecture hall. At the time, it was connected to the factory's canteen, and workers could watch films during their lunch breaks. Rowntree's was bought by Nestle in 1988, which in 2012 sold the theatre to York St John University. It continued to be operated by the Joseph Rowntree Village Trust, and was later purchased by the trust. In 2014, the roof was replaced, and a new bar installed. At the time, the theatre was run by around 150 volunteers. In 2017, the in-house Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company was established. The building has been Grade II listed since 2003. The theatre is constructed of brown brick, and has concrete dressings and a pantile roof. The building is mostly three storeys, and the recessed main entrance to the west consists of triple doors with a wooden canopy above. There are wings either side, with brick parapets. Each side has five buttresses, and the ground floor projects slightly. At the rear, the flytower rises to four storeys and has plain buttresses and a flat roof. Inside, the foyer has its original flooring, with a staircase to the left and box office to the right. The auditorium has raked stalls and a narrow gallery with a curved front. There is a proscenium arch to the stage, with an orchestra pit in front. Original features include wooden panelling, seating, and the stage machinery.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Joseph Rowntree Theatre (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Joseph Rowntree Theatre
Haxby Road, York Clifton Moor

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Phone number Website External links Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Joseph Rowntree TheatreContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 53.97477 ° E -1.0757 °
placeShow on map

Address

Joseph Rowntree Theatre

Haxby Road
YO31 8TA York, Clifton Moor
England, United Kingdom
mapOpen on Google Maps

Phone number

call+441904501935

Website
josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk

linkVisit website

linkWikiData (Q26388451)
linkOpenStreetMap (158422291)

Joseph Rowntree Theatre York 02
Joseph Rowntree Theatre York 02
Share experience

Nearby Places

The Groves
The Groves

The Groves is a district of York, England, covering the area just north of the city centre between Huntington Road and Haxby Road. The district is near York Hospital and the city ring road. In the 19th century the area was populated by poor working-class inhabitants of long rows of back-to-back houses. It consists largely of close-knit terraces, the majority of which date from the first two decades of the 20th century. In the early 1960s, a large number of very small terraced houses were demolished to make way for flats and maisonettes which were built between Garden Street, Penleys Grove/Townend Street and Lowther Street; this area has a residents' association.The Groves area contains a mixture of privately owned and rented properties, and council housing, and contains a number of students from York St John University. Lowther Street is the main area for local shopping, with an Indian restaurant and takeaway, Chinese takeaway, a small supermarket and a shop specialising in Polish food. In Penleys Grove Street there is a grocery shop. Lowther Street has historically been a busy route for traffic during rush hour, however in 2020 traffic has been re-routed away from Lowther Street through an 18-month experimental low traffic trial run by York Council based on feedback from residents of the Groves who desire "better air quality," "less and slower traffic" and "the chance to build on the existing sense of community."The Groves includes Park Grove Primary School, the Young Groves centre, Door 84, and St Thomas' Church.There is a police team which works with the community. In 2015 a ban on drinking alcohol on the streets was introduced to reduce anti-social behavior in the Groves. The area crime rate is one of the lowest in York.

Middleton House, York
Middleton House, York

Middleton House is a grade II* listed building on Monkgate, immediately east of the city centre of York in England. The house was built in about 1700. It may have been constructed for Benjamin West, who is known to have owned two of the neighbouring plots. Originally, the house was two storeys high, five bays wide at the front, and had an "L"-shaped plan. In about 1770, the space between Middleton House and 40 Monkgate was filled when a carriage arch was constructed, with two rooms above. These originally formed part of 40 Monkgate, but are now part of Middleton House. Around the same time, a third storey was added to Middleton House.In 1798, the Unitarian minister Charles Wellbeloved bought the house. In 1803, he consented to become the principal of Manchester College, on the condition that it was relocated to York. This was agreed, and it was accommodated in Middleton House until 1811. In order to increase the space for the academy, the north ground floor room was extended, new rooms were added at the rear of the building, and a new carriage arch was constructed. In the 20th century, the carriage arch was filled in, with another room added.The building is constructed of brick. Original sash windows survive on the ground floor. Inside, the decoration of the north ground floor room dates from the early 19th century, with the fireplace surround and cupboards being by John Wolstenholme. Most of the staircase is original, although the balusters of the bottom flight were changed in the early 18th century. One of the rooms over the carriageway has a mid-18th century fireplace surround, and two other rooms have firegrates made by Carron in about 1803.The house was purchased by the York Conservation Trust in 1990, who converted it into apartments and renovated the building.