The Opera House in Boscombe has just completed a huge restoration project. Built in 1895, the Victorian venue has entertained thousands of locals through the years. As a new chapter begins, owner John Butterworth looks back.

It's one of Bournemouth's oldest entertainment venues, and after a £3.5 million restoration and refurbishment project, its owners are hoping to restore the Opera House as a popular 'something-for-everyone' venue.

Since the venue's reopening, it's already picked up an industry award for Best UK Live Entertainment venue, and the owners plan to continue its trend of featuring big name live acts, which in the past has seen performances from David Bowie, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd on its stage, among many other big names.

Beginnings

The theatre originally opened as The Grand Pavilion Theatre in 1895. Designed by local architects Lawson and Donkin, the theatre forms part of a distinctive Victorian terrace.

Now a Grade II listed building, the theatre first found use as a circus, before becoming the The Boscombe Grand Theatre in 1899 and then The Boscombe Hippodrome several years later.

Butterworth family

It's been under the same family ownership since 1945, when the local Butterworth family took it over.
It was one of 18 theatres that the family ran, and it carried on in this vein - as a provincial theatre - until 1957, as the advent of TV saw a decrease in the popularity of live performance.

Early 1940s appearances from legendary singer Max Bygraves - who would later move to the area - and a young Tony Hancock, are two notable appearances from this time.

The venue was then converted to a dance hall, and ran as The Royal Ballrooms.
Owner John Butterworth says: "Many people have said to me that there's where they met their husbands or their wives."

Royal Ballrooms to Slinky

The Royal Ballrooms continued until 1972, but, with the beginnings of disco music, John Butterworth's late father decided this wasn't the direction he personally wanted to take the venue.
Instead, they leased it to entertainment company Mecca, who later became Rank, who ran it as Tiffany's - a disco aimed at younger people.

In 1982, another tenant and another name change. The Academy won Best UK Club several times in the mid-1980s, before becoming The Academy 2 and then, in 1997, The Opera House.

During the 1980s acts such as Frankie Goes to Hollywood and The Sisters of Mercy performed PAs at the club, continuing the venue's reputation for featuring the popular names of the time.

And when dance music DJs became the acts people wanted to see, all the big names were lined up to appear, too. Even today, the dance music brand and club night Slinky remains one of the most well known in the UK.
'A Victorian BIC'

John Butterworth took the lease back in 2006, and began the refurbishment in November 2007. He decided to refurbish it with an eye on its use as a 'general venue' - he sees it as 'a Victorian BIC'.

It took about six months to do, including employing specialist to recreate the ornate Victorian plaster work, restore and reopen the 'Gods' area and install a specialist LED lighting system with a mind-boggling number of different lighting combinations.

Says John: "The whole idea of the restoration is to open up the venue to everyone. I'm very passionate about it. There's nothing quite like it in the South - I think you have to go as far as Brighton to find anything like it, on the South coast."

"Many local people have got a lot of good memories about this place."