Unwelcome appearance of rising damp at overhauled theatre

The historic theatre’s subterranean stalls bar was overhauled in 2008 as part of a major three-phase restoration of the building which has cost Harrogate council in excess of £344,000 and was completed in 2009.

But despite the work, water has been seeping into the bar from a mystery source, causing the newly-laid wooden floor to warp and rising damp to appear.

Now Harrogate Council has submitted plans to install a tanking system to prevent more water seeping into the bar with the work expected to take up to a month.

Theatre communications manager Kevin Jamieson said: “It is an old building and these things always crop up.

“It is a mystery where the water is coming from.

“The work will take between three and four weeks and will take place when the theatre is shut during August.”

Harrogate Theatre was originally opened as Harrogate Grand Opera House in 1900 and is one of the country’s longest-standing theatres still in operation today.

The theatre building was designed by Frank Tugwell, whose other credits include the Futurist Theatre in Scarborough and the Savoy Theatre in London.

The building was supervised by William Peacock, who ran the theatre until the 1930s.

The recent three-phase restoration project included a complete overhaul of its front of house areas including the stalls bar, seats, box office, public stairwells and circle bar.