Work begins on 'securing the Royal Court's future' after Wigan Council takes over run-down theatre

The Royal Court Theatre on King Street has had a chequered history in recent decades but, after suffering a major setback, hopes are now rising that it can be fully restored and brought back into use.

The grand venue stood empty for years before the organisation behind the Old Courts, Arts at the Mill, bought it for £140k in 2020 and subsequently had £900k worth of Heritage England money spent on future-proofing it and several hundred thousand more on funding designs.

But then the project stalled. The pandemic led to a drying up of charity funds from the Government and then the Old Courts was hit by a crisis caused by the botched removal of a safe from the Crawford Street building which put its two main money-making venues out of action.

Thereafter many ventures – including the Royal Court – had to be shelved and many people lost their jobs.

Eventually Arts at the Mill was put into temporary administration and a charity called Wigan Heritage and Arts Trust took charge of the day-to-day running.

Insurers for the sub-contractors who caused the damage have finally paid up and work, as Wigan Today reported earlier this month, work is now beginning on repairing the Old Courts venues.

But, as bosses for the trust explained in an interview with us last October, it will be a slow process to build up their business again and, with the continued unavailability of government funding, they announced that they had passed on ownership to Wigan Council.

In recent days, workmen have been seen at the heavily scaffolded site and confirmation has now come from the local authority that phase one of the theatre’s restoration is now under way.

A Wigan Council spokesperson said: "The Royal Court Theatre is a landmark building on King Street and an important part of our heritage; its refurbishment, redevelopment and re-use is part of our long-term vision for the wider regeneration of King Street and Wigan town centre.

"The ownership of the building was transferred to the Council at the end of August 2025. The works currently on site are focussed upon putting the building into a safe and stable condition as a basis for future works to bring the premises back into active use.

"Bringing listed buildings like this back into productive use is rarely easy, and our next challenge is to explore and secure funding that will be needed to breathe new life into the building.

"Over the coming months we will continue to work with partners and the wider community to secure a viable future for the Royal Court Theatre which not only respects its heritage but also drives a thriving future for King Street."

The Royal Court is one of several components in the King Street revival.

For instance, nearby work continues on the transformation of the the former Evolution bar (for slightly older readers Liquid) into a Mackie Mayor-type food hall – dubbed King Street Social – on the ground floor and part of the basement and the upper storeys into 36 apartments.