HEWITT'S HISTORY FILES

THE offer was just too good to refuse. After all, not many amateur dramatic groups '“ however good their reputation '“ can boast their very own theatre.

The Arundel Players, to their great delight, have been in that privileged position for the past 30 years.

Their production of The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan for this year's Arundel Festival marks an important anniversary in the players' history '“ their arrival in their very own home, Arundel's Priory Playhouse.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It's a story Rosemary Hagedorn is well placed to tell: "I was on the committee at the time and may even have been chairman of the Arundel Players.

"The property became available in about 1974 or 1975. It was derelict at that point but it was a building with an incredibly long history. It is on the footprint of the chantry college built in 1380 and was reconstructed in the late 18th century.

"When we become involved, it was being handed over to the Knights of Malta, a catholic charitable organisation. They managed the building and were going to mastermind its conversion into accommodation for older people."

In the event, the part which became the theatre was surplus to requirements and not easily converted anyway: "It was just a big, big hall in very poor decorative condition. The most recent use had been as some kind of school for wayward boys and it had been somewhat beaten up." she said.

For sull feature see West Sussex Gazette August 1