Blue Plaque for Theatre Architect Frank Matcham

The actors Timothy West and Prunella Scales unveiling the plaque. The legendary theatre architect Frank Matcham (1854 – 1920) was commemorated on 22 November 2007 with an English Heritage blue plaque at 10 Haslemere Road, London, N8, where he lived for nine years, from 1895 to 1904.  Matcham was responsible for designing and building some of the most celebrated theatres in Britain, including the internationally famous London Coliseum (1904) and Palladium (1910), and the lavish Grand Theatre (1894) and Tower Ballroom (1899) in Blackpool.  Although he never qualified as an architect and was snubbed by some in his profession during his lifetime, the lively genius of his work is nowadays widely recognised.

Francis (Frank) Matcham was born in 1854 in Wolborough, near Newton Abbot, Devon. At the age of 14, he joined the offices of George Bridgman, a Torquay architect; he went on to join the practice of Jethro Robinson, one of the foremost theatre architects of the day. Matcham subsequently married Robinson’s daughter Hannah and – when his father-in-law died in 1878 – he took over the practice, which had created an impressive seven theatres in the previous seven years and was rebuilding the Elephant and Castle Theatre, a job that Matcham went on to complete.

Matcham built and rebuilt theatres at an exhaustive rate – he fulfilled some 150 commissions between 1879 and 1913, more than any other British architect, before or since.  Those which survive include the Grand Opera House, Belfast (1895), the Brighton Hippodrome and the Hackney Empire (both 1901), the Shepherds Bush Empire (1903), the King’s Glasgow (1904), and the Liverpool Olympia (1905).  By the outbreak of the First World War, there were few major towns in Britain without a theatre designed by ‘Matchless Matcham’. He died at his seaside home in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex on 17 May 1920 and was buried in Highgate Cemetery.

David S. Cooper of the Frank Matcham Society and proposer of the plaque said: “Matcham’s theatres have given millions of people great pleasure; both audience and performer.  I believe the whole theatrical experience is enhanced in one of his theatres.  Matcham had the ability to create theatrical magic.”

With interest in the fate of Britain’s theatre heritage growing, Matcham’s profile has been similarly heightened and his architectural ingenuity widely acknowledged.  His theatres are particularly notable for their exuberant interiors – he was quite prepared to mix architectural styles, from Tudor strapwork to rococo panels, military insignia to classical statuary. They also set new standards in providing good sightlines and high safety standards, with the inclusion of features such as fireproof construction, adequate emergency lighting and ready means of exit. Matcham’s work proved extremely popular with the public, and its opulence and flair continues to enthral audiences today.