Our picture shows the old Salisbury playhouse which once stood in Fisherton Street. Originally a chapel, it subsequently became a picture house, a training centre at the commencement of the Second World War, then a garrison theatre, and afterwards the Arts Theatre.

In 1953 this theatre changed its name to the Playhouse and under the astute management of Reggie Salberg, it became one of the leading repertory theatres in the country.

Many famous people trod the boards including Timothy West, Prunella Scales, Kenneth Williams and Stephanie Cole.

Many people lamented the demolition of the wonderful little playhouse in the late 1970s but the architect, Mr Tony Stocken, insisted that it was cracked from top to bottom, unsafe, and had to come down. The last play at the old theatre was an “Olde Tyme Music Hall”.

In its place came a new building, designed by Mr Stocken, which was built of brick with bronze finished aluminium windows and sections of the roof faced with lead. “It will be a good, quality building” said Mr Stocken.

Fisherton Street was the planned entrance to the new building with the feeder road at the rear leading into Chapel Place. It was in Chapel Place that some very old cottages, used as offices by the Playhouse, were pulled down with the land forming a part of the whole site.

The ground floor was earmarked as a freezer centre – a place where frozen goods of all kinds could be purchased, and above, a suite of offices was planned. The establishment eventually became Multiyork and today it houses ‘Baileys of Salisbury – The Bedding Experts’.

In 1974 an appeal was launched to build a new Playhouse at the Maltings where it remains to this day. It was a struggle but the 3/4 million was raised and the new building was opened on 30th November 1976 by Sir Alec Guinness.