The Lyceum Theatre was designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building on 6 July 1976. (
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'The theatre stands on the site of a former Roman Catholic Church that had been built to serve Irish immigrants working on the local railway. In 1876 the congregation moved into a larger church in the town. The site was acquired by Thomas Cliffe, a local farmer, and he gave permission for Henry Taylor, a local printer, to convert the church into a theatre. The old well on Heath Street is still exists under the stage of the Lyceum to this day.
Taylor wanted to have a "proper" theatre on the site and later built the New Lyceum Theatre, which opened on 21 November 1887. It cost £5,000 (equivalent to £510,000 in 2016) and seated 1,250 people.
It was re-fitted in 1908 and changed its name to the Opera House.
On 11 March 1910 the theatre was destroyed in a fire, and it was decided to rebuild it on the same site.
The new theatre was designed by Albert Winstanley, it seated 850, and opened on 6 October 1911.
In the early 1930s it was acquired by Terence Byron, who also owned theatres elsewhere in the country. It was bought in 1955 by Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council who formed a management trust in 1964. It operated, with a varying degree of success, as a repertory theatre.
During this time actors and actresses who later achieved fame gained experience in the theatre; these included Glenda Jackson, Richard Beckinsale, Judy Lowe, and Linda Bellingham.
In 1982 the management of the theatre moved back from the trust to the Council. The Council redecorated the theatre in 1992, and installed new seating, and in 1994 £1.5 million was spent in rebuilding the facilities in the front of the house and remodelling the gallery.' Source: (
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"The Lyceum Theatre is the only Edwardian theatre in Cheshire East. At over 100 years old, it’s an institution in Crewe and Cheshire. In 2012, HQ Theatres and Hospitality took on operation of the theatre on behalf of Cheshire East Council. The theatre was given a interior facelift culminating with a gala debut of a new restaurant and Circle Suite in May 2012.
The Lyceum Theatre also offers opportunities for corporate hire and filming opportunities for television or movies."
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The Lyceum Theatre is purported to be very haunted.
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"This is said to be a gathering place of several ghosts, the oldest believed to be that of a monk who used to frequent the lower levels of the building - perhaps the original floor-level of the church, or of a monastery before that. More recently his ghost seems to have developed a thirst and abandoned the world of entertainment for a public-house - he has been seen in The Three Lamps, situated behind the theatre. And as always, theatricals do enjoy getting together after the show.
Several of the other ghosts are known to be those of previous performers at the Lyceum:
The shadowy form of an elderly actor loiters at the stage door, and in one of the dressing-rooms a ballet dancer once hanged herself and has been seen there quite frequently ever since. Another ghost — that of an elderly woman — makes her presence felt by the scent of lavender.
In 1969, an exorcism was held. But in spite of the ritual, all the ghosts have remained. During the 1970s, it is said that both the elderly actor and the dancer who hanged herself watched a play from the auditorium and were delighted by what they saw. Source: (
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The stage door is reputedly haunted by an actor who was murdered by a jealous thespian, while a ballet dancer who killed herself can sometimes be seen dancing on stage. She was last observed in a full white period dress, and is said to leave a lingering smell of perfume. (
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Lyceum Ghost Hunts - (
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