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That's another fine mess: Victorian music hall which once hosted Laurel



t was once a grand music hall which hosted huge stars Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy. But now this historic Victorian music hall has dwindled to a crumbling wreck.

The Palace Theatre in Plymouth, Devon, drew some of greatest names in show-business in its heyday. After opening in 1898, the Flemish Renaissance-style theatre hosted the likes of Chaplin and Gracie Fields - but its ornate splendour is long gone.


The plaster friezes and ornamental cherubs are now coated in a thick layer of dust and the floor is covered with debris and broken glass. Laurel and Hardy can still be seen smiling down from a battered painting on the tiered auditorium which originally seated 1,440 theatre-goers.



The historic Palace Theatre in Plymouth, that once played host to Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy, is now just a shabby shell of its former glory





The Palace Theatre in Plymouth, Devon, drew some of greatest names in showbusiness in its heyday - but now it's just a crumbling wreck



The Flemish Renaissance-style theatre opened in 1898 and hosted the likes of Chaplin and Gracie Fields - but its ornate splendour is now long gone



The plaster friezes and ornamental cherubs are now coated in a thick layer of dust and the floor is covered with debris and broken glass

The legendary duo performed at the Palace in 1954 but their week-long run was cut short after one night when Oliver Hardy had a severe bout of flu and a mild heart attack. The Palace was built for the Livermore Brothers as a music hall, forming part of a development which included the adjoining Grand Western Hotel.


The Grade II listed building was one of the few Victorian properties to survive the devastating blitz of World War Two. In 1983 the curtain finally came down on the theatre for the last time. It was given a new lease of life after it was turned into a wrestling club and bingo hall before being reborn in 1996 as the Dance Academy nightclub.


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But it has remained empty since 2006 when police targeted it in a massive drugs sting. Former club boss Manoucehr Bahmanzadeh, who bought the property for £550,000, was jailed for allowing the building to be used for the supply of Class A drugs. He was also ordered to hand over £1million under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Bahmanzadeh, who has since been released from prison, has previously offered to give the venue away to an Islamic charity so it can be turned into a mosque. The Palace features on the 'at risk' building lists published by English Heritage and the Victorian Society.

A spokesman for Bahmanzadeh said: 'We are speaking to English Heritage, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Plymouth City Council about raising funds to put it right.'



The paintwork is faded and peeling, and rubbish litters the floor. The building, built in the 19th century, is on the English Heritage's 'risk' list





Once a stalwart of Plymouth, the old theatre - which was used as a bingo hall and a nightclub - has been closed since 2006



The owner has previously offered to give the venue away to an Islamic charity so it can be turned into a mosque






Laurel and Hardy can still be seen smiling down on the tiered auditorium which original seated 1,440 theatre-goers, but the paintwork is peeling and the features are crumbling away

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