Built in 1903 and designed by Frank Matcham, one of Britain's finest theatre architects, the Opera House ran as a successful theatre until 1927. In 1927 the theatre was turned into a cinema. The theatre held summer festival in 1937, 1939 and through the war years. Throughout the late 1940s, 50s and 60s the Opera House operated solely as a cinema, with only local amateur theatre performances and annual pantomimes. Towards the end of the 1970s the Opera House fell into disuse but was restored in 1979. Further restoration work , costing £1.9, was undertaken between October 1999 and June 2001 to restore the theatre to its original 1903 glory.