Thanks to a £4.5million National Lottery grant, the Globe Theatre in Stockton-on-Tees is to be revived following years of standing empty and slowly decaying.

The neglected Grade II listed Art Deco Globe theatre will once again be a live music and comedy venue with capacity for around 3,000 people. When it reopens it is estimated to bring around £18m to the local economy and create 250 jobs.

An illustrious past

The Globe is an Art Deco ‘super theatre’ situated on the main high street in the centre of Stockton. It originally opened its doors in 1935 and between the 1950s and 1970s was a premier venue hosting famous acts including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Cliff Richard and the Shadows, Buddy Holly, Lonnie Donegan, Bay City Rollers and Mud. The Beatles played the Globe twice, the first time on 22 November 1963, the day US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

The building closed its doors for the last time in 1997.

This is the latest project to receive funding through our Heritage Enterprise programme.  It is designed to help when the cost of repairing an historic building is so high that redevelopment is simply not commercially viable. Grants of £100k to £5m bridge the financial gap, funding the vital repairs and conservation work needed to convert derelict, vacant buildings like the Globe into new, usable commercial spaces that can have a positive impact on local economies.

In almost every town and city there is at least one historic building, like the Globe, standing empty that at one time was at the heart of the local community.  Whilst much-loved, these buildings present huge financial challenges.  Heritage Enterprise is using money raised through the sale of National Lottery tickets to unlock the potential of the Globe. The result is good for us all – wider regeneration, substantial local economic growth, much-needed new jobs and a wonderful part of our heritage saved from further neglect.