The maps illustrate how the layout and function of a public building changed over three periods, from a history reading room to a meeting room and ultimately a theatre.
Overall, the building’s footprint expanded considerably at the expense of the garden, which eventually disappeared. The final layout contained a seating area and several supporting rooms, while the two roads bordering the site remained unchanged.
Looking first at the upper and central sections, a garden initially occupied most of the site, with the history reading room confined to the lower-left area. The reading facility was subsequently replaced by a larger meeting room extending towards the centre, leaving a smaller garden above it. By the final period, the remaining garden had been removed to make way for a dressing room and a control room, with the former positioned above the latter. Meanwhile, the meeting room had been converted into the theatre’s seating area.
In the lower section, the kitchen remained in the bottom-left corner during the first two periods but was enlarged before being converted into an office. A hall was also added beside the kitchen in the second layout and retained in the final one. Along the right-hand side, land previously occupied by part of the garden was developed into a garage extending almost the full length of the site. A Road and B Road continued to run along the left and bottom boundaries respectively.