Former cinema, on the site of a theatre, now a music venue. The building may incorporate some 1879 fabric of the theatre by J T Robinson and Frank Matcham, but was practically rebuilt in its current form in the Art Deco style as a cinema to designs by the architect William Riddell Glen for ABC in 1931-2. This cinema was modernised in 1967 and 1981 and the entrance block was covered in wooden hoarding in 1981.

The Coronet, an Art Deco style cinema of 1932 with a stage and orchestra pit, designed by W R Glen for the ABC circuit, replacing an 1879 theatre designed by Frank Matcham, is not listed for the following principal reasons: * Interior interest: while a good deal of the internal Art Deco style decorative scheme survives and has recently been restored, other significant elements of the interior (such as the foyer and elements of the auditorium) have been lost; * Exterior interest: the originally fairly modest exterior has been substantively altered by fabric losses behind a 1980s hoarding and ground floor remodelling; * Historic interest: while of interest as an Art Deco-style cinema by noted cinema architect W R Glen, others have been listed elsewhere.

In 1872 a theatre was built on this site - the Theatre Royal, designed by Dean, Son & Matthews. This burnt down in 1878 and re-opened a year later as the Elephant & Castle Theatre, designed by J T Robinson but taken over by Frank Matcham following Robinson's death. Further works were carried out by Frank Matcham in 1882. In 1910 this theatre had a capacity of 3,000 with a proscenium opening of 31ft, a stage depth of 35ft and stage width of 70ft.

The building was remodelled at a cost of £80,000 into its current form in the Art Deco style by the cinema and theatre architect William Riddell Glen, architect to Associated British Cinemas Ltd. It re-opened on 22 December 1932 as a cinema which also had a fully-equipped 13ft deep stage and full orchestra pit for live performances. It had a capacity of 2,315 on two levels - stalls and circles - with a Christie organ illuminated console in the orchestra pit. The cinema was modernised in 1967 and re-opened as the ABC Cinema. In 1981 it was remodelled again (this time divided into a 3-screen multiplex with half the number of seats) by Cannon, but was taken over by Coronet in 1996, and in 1997 became The Coronet cinema. This closed in 1999 before undergoing a £2 million complete refurbishing programme in 2001. The Coronet is currently (2015) a live music venue catering for a wide range of events, with a mixture of theatrical and musical performances, as well as providing functional corporate event and conference facilities.

Former cinema, on the site of a theatre, now a music venue. The building may incorporate some 1879 fabric of the theatre by J T Robinson and Frank Matcham, but was practically rebuilt in its current form in the Art Deco style as a cinema to designs by the architect William Riddell Glen for ABC, and opening in 1932. This cinema was modernised in 1967 and 1981 and the entrance block was covered in wooden hoarding in 1981.

MATERIALS: mainly stock brick but the entrance front to New Kent Road has concrete render, concealed beneath the later wooden hoarding.

PLAN: roughly L-shaped, the smaller L-wing comprising a narrower frontage with foyer, offices above and main staircase. The much wider auditorium and stage behind has a pointed rear wall and incorporates dressing rooms and an organ loft.

EXTERIOR: the main frontage to New Kent Road retains some of the Art deco-style 1932 symmetrical five-bay frontage, with recessed central and projecting end bays, hidden behind the later C20 wooden hoarding. The top floor central window has a recessed pedimented gable, flanked by full-height reeded pilasters, and the narrower windows on either side have similar gables. The windows have been replaced but within existing openings, which retain rendered stepped window cills. The ground floor is clad in later C20 mosaic, with three original entrances with later C20 aluminium doors. The remainder of the building has exposed stock brick and a number of 1930s metal Crittall windows.

INTERIOR: the entrance foyer was entirely re-modelled in the 1980s but the main staircase of 1932 survives to full-height with its entrance, metal balustrading with a decoration of paterae, and a moulded wooden handrail. At the top of the staircase a further circulating area has a cornice of panels, Greek key design and paterae. The auditorium retains a good proportion of its decorative scheme. There is a large decorative elongated octagonal-shaped grille to the centre of the ceiling and a narrower grille to the ceiling at the back of the balcony. The large square splayed ribbed proscenium arch incorporates stylized stepped wooden grille work to the sides and the top of the ante-proscenium. The auditorium features a deep scalloped cornice, fluted pilasters with dropped-scroll capitals and Art Deco decoration. The balcony is original and retains its original seating although has lost its balustrade. The raking and seating in the stalls has been removed. Backstage are a number of dressing rooms. The organ loft retains two wooden panels.