The Grand Theatre opened on Wednesday 20 September 1916, with a seating capacity of 1,300, with 1,000 in the stalls and 300 in the dress circle.

[2][3] The Edwardian[4] styled theatre was built for entrepreneur Thomas Coombe,[5] and designed by architect Richard Joseph Dennehy[6] for a cost of £20,000.

[9] In August 1932 the company was unable to maintain their rental payments and the bailiffs were brought in, with the theatre being taken over by the property owners.

[17] The renovations occurred over a four-week period;[9] the dress circle was demolished and remodelled with the aisles between the seats widened, the supporting pillars in the stalls were removed, all the internal arches and cornices were bricked up, a new plaster proscenium installed, the upstairs landings enlarged to form a smoking lounge, new ticket boxes and glass doors added and a new internal new colour scheme in pastel shades introduced.

[22] The theatre closed on 6 November 1980, following the opening of the nearby Cinema City complex[5] by TVW Ltd.[22] The building was subsequently converted into a family restaurant, Pizza Showtime,[23] and in 1984 into an Asian food hall[24] before it was demolished in March 1990.