EPPiC History

  • 1973 We purchased "The Dungeon" Town End Road, Ecclesfield, for our Headquarters for £750. Payments were 5 years @ £150.
  • 1970's It had long been a dream to have our own theatre. Rising production costs, in particular the cost of hiring Education Authority property, led the Committee to consider converting "The Dungeon" into a theatre, but it soon proved unsuitable on a number of counts.
  • 1977/78 We heard that the Trinity Methodist Sunday Schoolroom was to be sold. It was formerly the Trinity Methodist Chapel built 1817. We conducted a feasibility study around the possibility of converting the building into a fully functional small theatre and applied to the Local Authority for change of use. Following numerous meetings and consultations it was decided that conversion into a theatre was possible and we entered a period of bids and counter bids for its purchase.
  • 1979 The Dungeon was sold for £7,000 to buy Trinity Methodist Sunday Schoolroom on Well Lane with a winning bid of £6,260. The Ecclesfield Scout and Cub Group had bid £6,100. The first budget for conversion was £23,000. Fundraising for £16,000 was started but the budget was exceeded over the next 8 years.
  • Major alterations were required to create the Theatre we now call the “EPPiC”. The name was chosen to represent Ecclesfield Priory Players in the Community because it was hoped the building would be a resource for the surrounding area.
  • 1980 Preliminary designs were drawn up and the architect’s plans and calculations were submitted to the Planning Office. During the long period we were waiting for consent, fund-raising became our main effort.
  • The society continued to stage plays at Ecclesfield Town Junior School in order to meet the criteria of our Constitution. At the same time, we designed and launched major fund-raising projects, and made appeals to local authorities, companies, charities and to individuals for funding to allow the project to move forward.
  • We knew we were in for a long haul on the conversion. We had decided to execute most of the work ourselves as the fund-raising progressed, using limited specialist help as necessary.
  • Also, whilst we waited for planning permission, the balcony fronts, columns, glazed screen, stone steps and the cast iron stove were removed and sold to an architectural reclamation firm. 
  • 1980 Work started in September and the first skip was ordered. November saw the pulling down of the old balcony and in December we finally got the rubber stamp on the Planning Consent Document. During 1980 a sponsored 24-hour play reading was held in what would become our EPPiC Theatre.
  • 1981 January saw the floor removed at what is now the stage end of the Theatre and digging was started to create the basement dressing room. The Chapel balcony and the internal walls were completely removed and the plaster stripped from the ground floor walls. By March we had secured the services of Community Industries who helped with the rebuilding and pointing of the boundary walls. The undergrowth was cleared from around the building and in November, trenches were dug for the surface water and sewage drains and new gutters and fall pipes were added.
  • 1981 In the winter, to our dismay, the basement digging flooded.  Well Lane lived up to its name.
  • 1982 Pumping out the water and digging continued throughout the year when we were seriously hampered by flooding.  The wall to the vestry was knocked down to make the auditorium a suitable size. In May, the concrete blinding went down for the base of the dressing room. By this time, we had spent £1300 on skip hire to dispose of the soil. The rear stairs and the staircase wall were removed. In June, the walls were underpinned around the basement. We worked through the evening of July 15th until 3am, fixing the Bituthene membrane and water bar because the highly skilled steel fixer was due the next day to install the reinforcing steelwork for the basement. The base slab was cast in September and is 12 inches thick. The basement wall reinforcing steelwork and the fixed shuttering followed in October. In November the steel girders, columns and beams were delivered to Singleton’s Transport yard, our wonderful next-door neighbour, and the external fire escape positioned.
  • 1983 This was probably the best year. Things started to speed up and we could see at last the Theatre we envisaged beginning to take shape. Digging out the column bases to support the upstairs lounge, the footings for the rear staircase wall, the shuttering-out of the basement and the subsequent casting in concrete of its walls and floor were completed before spanning the stage area with pre-stressed concrete beams. The steel columns seated on the concrete bases and the first-floor beams were fixed, the rear wall built, the staircase fixed and the rear floor laid then the proscenium arch walls were built. The toilet and washroom were built into the basement to serve the dressing room.  The spiral staircase was positioned and built in. During this year we purchased the stage lighting dimmer racks and some floodlights at auction. The heaviest work was to install the structural steel work required to support the upstairs floor, the proscenium arch and the stage lighting rig.
  • 1984 All the plaster was removed from the inner walls except for the stage area. These were then re-plastered by a ladies' plastering co-operative. Rewiring of the whole building began. The pre-stressed concrete beams were positioned over the basement to form the stage area and upstairs, over the steel work, to form the first-floor lounge area.  The external fire escape and steel fire door were erected at the same time. The toilets were sited and built in and the domestic plumbing was completed.  All the windows were re-glazed with Georgian wired glass.
  • 1985 This was a very productive year. The Probation Service agreed to provide the labour for all the painting while the central heating system was designed, gas was laid on, the kitchen finished, the staircases positioned, and the rewiring was completed.  The steel beams and columns were clad with fireproof material and the internal brickwork was completed. 
  • 1986 The society became a registered Charity
  • 1986 In this year, the conversion project won the William Stones Brewery Community Award. The central heating was installed. Shirecliffe College students re-plastered the remaining interior walls. This year also saw the regular Saturday coffee mornings brought back into the Theatre. We had been using the original Schoolroom building next door.
  • 1987 Saw many small works completed; the internal doors were fitted, the red auditorium seating (previously used by Barnsley Civic Theatre) was laid out, the stage lighting/sound control room fitted out and the Probation Service lads came in again to paper and paint the Theatre throughout.
  • 1983-1988 Eight plays were produced. Four in St Mary's Church Ecclesfield and four in Ecclesfield Town Junior School.
  • 1988 In October it was recorded that Church Trustees had signed the Deed of Release for the lifting of the no alcohol covenant on the Theatre.
  • 1988 Saw the Theatre ready to open, with the completion of the stage wiring, the positioning of the stage lighting rigs, the installation of the sound system with hearing loop, and the fitting of an air extraction system, emergency lighting and fire alarms. The gold-coloured velvet stage curtains had previously been owned by Crookes Working Men's Club.
  • 1988 The opening play in the EPPiC Theatre was Alan Cullen’s “The Stirrings in Sheffield on Saturday Night” which received much critical acclaim, as did the newly opened EPPiC Theatre itself.
  • At about the same time, the society was devastated to find that the under-floor timber joists had succumbed to the dreaded dry rot, apparently due to the heating pipes running below floor level reactivating the long dormant dry rot spores. 
  • The whole of the ground floor had to be removed and burned and the plaster once more stripped off the walls. Improved ventilation was then provided, the walls and ground treated with fungicide, and then the flooring and walls had to be reinstated, seating refitted, etc.  All of this took an additional year and a great deal of funding. Yet another major fund-raising effort had to be launched.
  • 1989 Thus the only play produced in the EPPiC Theatre was Alan Ayckbourn’s “Round and Round the Garden”.
  • 2004 The EPPiC became a no-smoking Theatre.
  • Since the initial conversion, continuing efforts have been made to upgrade the EPPiC Theatre.
  • The upstairs lounge, auditorium, and foyer have all been refurbished several times, with new carpeting laid on the stairs and on all levels of the lounge.
  • The kitchen has also been upgraded and refitted several times, and the toilets re-organised to meet modern standards with the inclusion of facilities for wheelchair access etc
  • Extra storage has been built above the stage, to accommodate set building materials and painting and decorating materials, etc.
  • Red velvet curtains previously used by Kimberworth School before it was demolished replaced the outworn gold-coloured ones. 
  • The sound system has been upgraded and a new hearing loop installed.
  • 2015 A major project was completed. An initial upgrading of the lighting system took place and has since been entirely replaced to meet current regulations. A new lighting control system has been installed which has increased the lighting capacity
  • 2015 The seating in the auditorium was replaced thanks to a generous grant from Viridor. The red seating which we had from Barnsley Civic Theatre, was taken across Sheffield to be used by the Abbeydale Picture Palace.
  • 2016 The auditorium, foyer and outside the downstairs toilets were all re-carpeted.
  • 2016 New windows were fitted in November, and further improvements eg to the lounge are planned – when we have any spare cash! 
  • Most of the lighting was replaced with LED bulbs and fitments.
  • 2020 Dirty Dusting, a comedy, was the last play to be performed in February just before the Covid Pandemic Lockdown in March. Two productions, in May and October had to be cancelled.   
  • 2020 As part of the Covid Pandemic review, the foyer was redesigned and refitted to improve social distancing. Work to improve ventilation in the dressing room was started. New black backdrop curtains used by visiting groups were purchased. 
  • 2021 Still in lockdown, two productions, February and May, also had to be cancelled.   In September, the EPPiC Theatre was allowed to reopen and a farce, was performed in October. 
  • 2022 One production in February had to be cancelled as no rehearsals could be held. The Covid Pandemic was still a constraint on normal lives and so the next production, another farce, was in May.  One Government grant had been received, but this did not fully compensate for the loss of income from five productions and the reduction in audience numbers and the loss of income from hiring the theatre. The Covid Pandemic has created a substantial financial burden. Production income is essential for the upkeep of the EPPiC Theatre.
  • 2022 May 9th The original EPPiC Title Deeds were registered in the names of four of EPP members in their role of Holding Trustees .  The Land Registry had to be notified if any of these four left the Society and admin fees were charged.   The Title Deeds were transferred to the Official Custodian for Charities to avoid these charges and provide continuity.   EPP still own the EPPiC Theatre.
  • 2022 September 29th, the society celebrated the 90th anniversary of its formation.
  • 2022 October The Secret Tent by Elizabeth Addyman, a crime drama, was performed. This play had been performed in 1958 in the Gatty Memorial Hall in Ecclesfield. A previous EPP Secretary and a member of the cast from the 1958 production. Roy Norcliffe, was made welcome at the dress rehearsal. 
  • 2023 February the society celebrated the 90th anniversary of the first production Ambrose Applejohn's Adventure.     
  • 2023 February new green stage curtains were purchased with a grant from Ecclesfield Parish Council. The stairs and lounge area were painted with funds provided by Sheffield City Council.  
  • 2023 September New costume wardrobes and props storage were purchased with a grant from Ecclesfield Parish Council. Costumes and props are becoming more difficult to find and are more expensive as "vintage" has become fashionable.  Costumes and props stored in other parts of the theatre were rehoused in the new wardrobes. The old wardrobes were actually office cupboards so were not deep enough and the doors never closed.The volunteers painted the auditorium doors to match the lounge and staircase. This prompted them to continue painting and undertake a major makeover of the dressing room. All the storage boxes and contents had been removed. The dull magnolia walls were repainted white and red doors painted green to match the rest of the theatre. New white worktops slightly narrower replaced old wooden ones. The red chairs with arms were swapped for green chairs without arms. Mirrors were repositioned and an extra one added.    A screen of curtains can be hung from a wooden frame to divide the dressing room but it is not used for much of the year. This wooden frame has been replaced by 7ft tall metal clothes rails on castors which can be positioned more easily and with more choice and stored away when not in use.  If we had a cat - and wanted to - there is now room to swing it. 
  • 2023 October The auditorium walls and skirting boards were repainted the same purple and green. It looks stunning
  • 2024 April The toilets were painted a pale green.

EPPiC Theatre holds EPP archives from 1932

We have missing details for the 1950's and 1960's and would really be grateful if you can fill in any gaps for us.

A detailed archive from 1932 is available to view in the EPPiC lounge, containing programmes, pictures, and press cuttings.

The society was formed by the Reverend Norman Braham at the time he was curate for St Mary's Church Ecclesfield.

1932 September 29th.  The inaugural meeting was held in the Gatty Memorial Hall Ecclesfield.   It was decided that a Dramatic Society be formed to be known as Priory Players.

The following officials were elected. President Mr Frank N Green; Chairman and Producer Rev. Norman Braham; Secretary Miss Annie Bedford; Treasurer Miss Phylis Robinson; Members of Committee Miss Jane Pawson and Miss Ethel Selby.
It was decided to join The British Drama League at once. Meetings to be held fortnightly on Thursday evening.

The following week Miss Kathleen Grimoldby was appointed librarian. The annual subscription was 5 shillings per member and members were asked to contribute 2d per meeting "to help to defray the cost of borrowing books".

1933 The ticket prices for Ambrose Applejohn's Adventure, the first production in February, were 2 shilling and 1 shilling plus entertainment tax and 9d including tax
For the society's earliest performances in the Gatty Memorial Hall, stage lighting was provided from cables running into the lane outside to batteries on members' cars.

1933-1962 Performances were held in the Gatty Memorial Hall on Priory Road, Ecclesfield, with activities halted during the 1939-1945 war years.

1962-1966 The venue moved for a while to the Colley Secondary School Assembly Hall in Parson Cross, but audiences fell as it was away from the bus route from Ecclesfield.

1967 The venue changed again, this time to Ecclesfield Town Junior School Assembly Hall off High Street, Ecclesfield, and audience numbers picked up immediately.

Rehearsals were held in the basement of the old Methodist Chapel, which by then was the Labour Hall, in Town End Road, Ecclesfield, where we also stored our scenery and props.

Members affectionately referred to the building as “The Dungeon”.

 

Newspaper article 1850

Terrible thuderstorms visited Sheffield and its neighbourhood today. The rain descended in torrents while flash after flash of forked lightning followed each other in quick succession.

The Wesleyan Chapel at Ecclesfield was struck on the south east gable. The lightning, after tearing away part of the roof, passed into the chapel over the end gallery.

The pews in the gallery, as a result, "are much broken and the strong oak bearers shiver like matchsticks"