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17th July 2007
According to the BBC News website on the 16th July 2007 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/6900296.stm) the first stage in the regeneration of Chatham High Street has now begun. The article reported that the Theatre Royal building was affected by this initial stage of redevelopment and demolition was in progress.
Although most of the Theatre Royal is safe from the bulldozer for the moment, demolition of one of the Theatre Royal's nearest neighbours has indeed begun. The former Perrings department store has been empty for about ten years and the redevelopment of this particular site, which ultimately includes some of the backstage area of the Theatre Royal, is at the top of Medway Council’s agenda. Part of this building was designated as an arts centre in the plans made by the Theatre Royal Chatham Trust during its own campaign.
The remains of the Perrings department store now command little presence in this area of the High Street. The decline of this periphery of the town centre has, for many years, blighted many buildings here; despite the Theatre Royal itself having been striking enough to be the subject of much campaigning. Few would have cast a second glance at this particular building when walking past.
But on closer inspection some interesting features are immediately apparent and the would be passer-by has to stop and imagine how this building would once have caught the eye when it was completed during the early twentieth century - by far one of the most dominating aspects of the west end of Chatham. Once such a majestic upper facade, the only remarkable remains are those of the rather broad and squat pediment above an otherwise dark, empty and derelict 1970s shop front.
Although overshadowed by the hugely majestic and superlative Theatre Royal, this building would once have stood out amongst its other more easterly neighbours. The attractive but diminutive ionic capitals and columns are dwarfed by their incongruous, protrusive brick surrounds and abutments. The central niche is crying out for a statue. What appears to have been designed as an ostentatiously decorated classical stone facade was clearly finished as a functional but aesthetically pleasing feature on a somewhat faceless building.
The demolition of the entire building is evidently underway so it is farewell to one of Chatham's most decorative but least admired upper storeys; a frontage under which so many would have passed during the halcyon days of Perrings. Consultation will continue to determine the timeframe within which the demolition of the Theatre Royal itself will finally commence.
Graham White
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