Lawrence Batley Theatre

{{notability|date = June 2013}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Use British English|date=April 2023}}

{{Infobox venue

| name = Lawrence Batley Theatre

| image = LawrenceBatleyTheatre.jpg

| image_caption = Lawrence Batley Theatre

| nickname =

| address = Queen's Square, Queen Street, Huddersfield HD1 2SP

| location =

| coordinates = {{coord|53.645|-1.780|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}

| type =

| seating_type = Reserved seating

| genre =

| broke_ground =

| built = 1819

| expanded =

| closed =

| demolished =

| owner =

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| former_names =

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| website = {{URL|https://www.thelbt.org/}}

}}

Lawrence Batley Theatre is a theatre in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England which offers drama, music, dance and comedy.

The theatre is named after Lawrence Batley, a local entrepreneur and philanthropist, who founded a nationwide cash and carry chain. The building was originally built in 1819 as a Methodist chapel, called the Queen Street Chapel.{{Cite book|title=Queen Street Chapel and Mission Huddersfield|last=Royle|first=Edward|publisher=Huddersfield Local History Society|year=1994|isbn=0950913421|location=York|pages=7}} The architect is unknown but the chief mason was Joseph Kaye, the man who was also responsible for Huddersfield station.{{Cite journal|last=Hepple|first=Philip|year=1994|title=The Batley is the biz|journal=The Stage and Television Today|volume=September 15|pages=23|via=Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive}} It was opened on 9 July 1819 and the reporter in the Leeds Mercury described it as "one of the most handsome and commodious chapels in the kingdom; being capable of accommodating 3000 persons, and has been erected at an expense of from 8 to £10,000".{{Cite news|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk|title=Leeds, Saturday, July 10|date=10 July 1918|work=Leeds Mercury|accessdate=30 March 2017}}

The chapel became a mission in 1906 until a decline in numbers saw the mission move out of the building in 1970 to a new building in King Street.{{Cite web|url=http://huddersfieldmission.org.uk/history-of-the-mission/|title=Huddersfield Mission: History of the Mission|website=Huddersfield Mission|accessdate=30 March 2017}} In 1973 the building was converted into an arts centre; serious structural problems discovered by Kirklees Metropolitan Council in 1975 meant that the Arts Centre was rehoused on Venn Street, with the chapel building remaining vacant before being sublet to Novosquash Limited and converted into a squash club known as The Ridings. It also housed a restaurant and The Catacombs Disco.{{Cite web|url=http://www.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/theatres/show/3082-lawrence-batley-theatre|title=Lawrence Batley Theatre|website=The Theatres Trust Theatres Database|accessdate=30 March 2017}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.heritagequay.org/archives|title=A New Theatre for Kirklees|publisher=Lawrence Batley Archive|accessdate=30 March 2017|ref=Lawrence Batley Theatre Archive}}

In 1989 the Kirklees Theatre Trust was given the go ahead to save the building from deterioration and launch Huddersfield's newest theatre. Building work for the theatre started in September 1992 and took 4 years to complete.