The Derelict staircase 1

The Crown opened in 1899 as the Lyceum Theatre. The intention was to provide a luxury theatre for Shakespeare productions and drama as well as revue. It is a landmark building in the town of Eccles in a vaguely Elizabethan Style with pilasters and mullioned windows. The facade is constructed of moulded red brick of five storeys with terracotta dressings to three high arched windows at first floor. It is richly decorated, and has an asymmetrically placed short corner tower. This once had a pyramidal roof and the parapet was topped with square pinnacles. The cast iron canopy still survives, now encased. The auditorium was designed with three balconies, supported by four columns, balcony fronts decorated with swags and drops. Unusually it had trefoil shaped tympanum. The ornamentation around the proscenium arch comprised an allegorical representation of Shakespeare's 'Seven Ages of Man'. The act drop was a facsimile of Beverley's noted work for the opening of the Theatre Royal (Manchester) in 1845 – a Grecian subject painted by Mr Keith. Becoming a cinema in 1932, it was later adapted for Cinemascope, ending stage use. Converted for bingo in 1963, by the late 1980s it was reported to be falling into disrepair internally. The exterior is largely intact, apart from the stage house which has been partly demolished. Planning permission was given in 2005 – and again in 2008 – for partial demolition (retaining the facade) and development of apartments behind. These works have not been started, and the building remains empty and increasingly derelict.