Derngate

Derngate is a part of Northampton, England, with a theatre complex of the same name. It refers to one of the old walled town's gates which was located there.

Town

The area is dominated by offices, restaurants and the Royal and Derngate Theatres. The new part of the theatre complex was the site of the old bus station. Northampton High School for girls was located here before moving to Hardingstone.

78 Derngate is a Grade II* listed Georgian house, noted for its interior, which was extensively redeveloped in 1916-7 by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for local businessman and modelmaker, Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke.

Derngate was formerly the home of Northampton's old bus station before this was demolished and replaced with the current Greyfriars station in 1976.

Theatre

The theatre complex opened on 4 April 1983 with an 8pm performance by jazz singer Jack Jones. The theatre is next door to and linked to the 19th century Royal Theatre. Since 1999 both theatres have been managed by the Northampton Theatres Trust. The complex shut for major refurbishment in 2005-6, re-opening in late 2006. Soon after, its future was threatened by annual cuts of £250,000 by Northampton Borough Council. This was an apparent attempt to claw back its own budget deficits, even though they had largely paid for the refurbishment work. It was feared that this withdrawal of would trigger similar withdrawals from other sponsors. A short term solution was reached with Northampton County Council funding the Borough Council's cuts for the next 2 years. The long term future remains uncertain.

External links

* [http://www.northamptontheatres.com/ Royal and Derngate Theatres, Northampton]
* [http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/NorthamptonTheatres.htm History of Northampton's Theatres and Cinemas]