The Roses

The Roses Theatre stands on the site of the Sabrina Cinema – an art deco cinema which closed in the 1960s. Building work started in 1973 and, at that time, Roman remains were unearthed and the project was suspended whilst a full archaeological exploration of the site was conducted. This took some six months and, due to the poor nature of the medieval excavated material, large quantities of ballast were imported. However the project was completed two weeks ahead of a revised schedule in 1975, despite delays occasioned by a national steel shortage. The architects were The Preece Payne Partnership of Gloucester and the primary architect was James Rendell, who was assisted by Roger Payne. Her…