1913 Electricity Works

Image: © Basher Eyre Taken: 13 Dec 2008

Taken from Riverside Path, Guildford. This is the rear view of the Electric Theatre which now occupies the premises of the 1913 works. The building was converted and extended in order to house a cafe bar, offices for staff of the theatre, and a 180/210 seater auditorium, which now accommodates a wide range of both amateur and professional theatrical and music events, comedy evenings, Guildford Music festival and Guildford Book festival events (to name but a few). The 1913 Electricity works was the second in the town (the former one having been next door), and was in use for less than 15 years. In May 1928 the works were transferred to another building in Woodbridge Road, but the old works continued in use as a distribution centre and all the town centre mains radiated from this point. The building remained dormant from the late 1960s, being used as a scenery and costume store for local amateur dramatics societies, until it was eventually converted into a theatre, and opened as such in 1997. A number of the operational features, and original workings such as pulleys, pulley wheels, porcelain splashback tiles have been retained in the design of the interior of the building.

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