History

The present Lyceum Theatre stands on the site of a Roman Catholic Church, which had been built in the early 1850’s for the Irish Railway Immigrants; this church, with it’s graveyard, served the Catholic Community of Crewe until 1876, when it moved to a larger church elsewhere in Crewe. A well, which was within the grounds of the church, and which was used by the residents of the area can still be found below the stage.

When the Roman Catholic's vacated the church, it was acquired by a local farmer, Mr Thomas Cliffe who allowed a local printer, Mr Henry Taylor to convert it into a theatre, which was opened in January 1882.

However, Mr Taylor was very keen to build a “proper” theatre on the site and in 1885 formed the Crewe Lyceum Theatre Buildings Company (Ltd) with local businessmen to achieve that objective. The result was the opening on the 21st November 1887 of the New Lyceum Theatre, with tickets ranging from 6d (3p) to 3 shillings (15p). The theatre cost £5,000 and had a seating capacity of 1,250.

During the Summer of 1908 the auditorium was refitted to increase the number of boxes and as a consequence the theatre changed its name to the Opera House.

On the 11th March, 1910 a fire completely destroyed the building. However, the shareholders decide to rebuild a theatre on the same spot, which resulted in the building which substantially remains today. The theatre was built by Albert Winstanley to seat 850 and was opened on Monday 6th September, 1911.

From this date until the mid-1950’s, the Lyceum had a varied and chequered history. It was acquired in the early 1930’s by Mr Terence Byron, who already owned five theatres in various parts of the country and who always referred to the Lyceum as the “Jewel in his Crown” because of the ornate plasterwork and architecture of the auditorium.

Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council bought the Lyceum Theatre in 1955, and, following the failure of several private management’s to make a success of the theatre, formed a Trust to manage the theatre in 1964. During this period the Lyceum operated as a Repertory Theatre, and whilst not blessed with large houses, many young actors and actresses who went on to become household names were seen in Crewe during this period; most notably Glenda Jackson, Richard Beckinsale, Judy Lowe and Linda Bellingham, to name but a few.

The Trust collapsed in 1982 where upon the Theatre reverted back to the Borough Council, who invited two separate management’s to run the theatre until 1991, when the second of these management’s resigned owing to a combination of factors, it was at this point in the history that the local authority decided that it must manage the Lyceum Theatre.

Under the stewardship of the Council audiences started to grow and, as a result, the auditorium was completely redecorated in 1992, with new seating installed in both the Stalls and Circle.

The continuing growth in its popularity led the Borough Council, with significant support from local businesses and funding bodies, spending £1.5 million in 1994 to completely rebuild the front of house facilities and to re-tier and re-seat the Gallery.

The other two ghosts are both theatricals:-

One an old forgotten actor who usually haunts the area of the stage door, and the other a ballet dancer who hanged herself in the dressing room.

All these spirits were exorcised in 1969, but the ceremony had no effect, since they are still seen from time to time.

Indeed, one remarkable dual appearance occurred in the mid-1970’s when both the actor and a dancer attended a play. They were seen by the entire cast of the production, standing at the back of one of the boxes, engrossed in the drama.




The handsome Edwardian Lyceum Theatre in Crewe boasts no fewer than three ghosts. Since it stands on the site of an old graveyard, it is hardly surprising that one of them should be a conscience-stricken monk who haunts the lower areas below the auditorium. Recent sightings, however, suggest that he has discovered a more congenial stamping-ground of the Three Lamps public house that backs on to the theatre.