Gaiety Theatre, Isle of Man

The Gaiety Theatre is a theatre in Douglas, Isle of Man which together with the Villa Marina forms the Villa-Gaiety complex. The Gaiety is situated on Douglas promenade, overlooking the sea and adjacent to the Villa Gardens, Arcade and Butts.Built in 1899 to the designs of architect Frank Matcham as an opera house and theatre the Gaiety, along with the nearby Villa Marina, stands on the site of a lodge occupied in the early 19th Century by Castle Mona architect and Atholl family retainer George Steuart, and then later bought by benefactor Henry Bloom Noble and donated for recreational use.HistoryThe PavilionThe Pavilion had been built in 1893 at the height of the Island's tourism boom and was owned by Richard Maltby Broadbent, the man who turned Groudle Glen into pleasure gardens and was instrumental in the construction of the Groudle Glen Railway.The idea was that the Pavilion would match the theatres and dance halls at other resorts such as Blackpool. To create the space needed a "Belfast Roof" was built, meaning a barrel vaulted roof was formed from iron sections bolted together into hoops which were then reinforced and faced with laminated wood. However the venture was not a success, and the Pavilion closed after only six seasons following which Boradbent sold the land to the Palace and Derby Castle Company.