Separated from the Ambassadors Theatre by the narrow Tower Court, and built three years later in 1916, St Martin’s Theatre was designed by W. G. R. Sprague for Richard Grenville, 19th Baron Willoughby de Broke; Grenville’s ancestral Warwickshire home, Compton Verney, lies in sweeping grasslands to the southeast of Charlecote Park, with Its tenuous links to the young Shakespeare as a would-be poacher. Above the chimney piece In an oval Adamesque royal retiring room to the rear of the stalls Is a small oil painting by Frank Gaskell which looks across a Capability Brown landscape of 1772 to the house. Sited in the Domesday village of Contone, deserted by 1461 to make way for sheep runs, much of the external fabric of the building was designed by Robert Adam (1760), but the rooms are surprisingly plain, a fact that may have some considerable bearing on the interior design of the theatre.
St Martin’s covers much of Its island site, originally occupied by a group of 16 small buildings, and its four-storey classical ashlar façade dominates the more compact Ambassadors. At ground-floor level pairs of arched openings flank a wide central entrance, with upper- circle access on the extreme right, all contained under a modern canopy. Giant engaged Ionic columns extend through three storeys, supporting a triglyph frieze, cornice and parapet. The Architectural Review In 1916 drew attention to a large bronzed central cartouche grouped with flags mounted on the parapet and vases supported on dies to either side, destroyed during the Second World War. Their replacement would put a dramatic finishing touch to the elevation.
Entered through three pairs of polished wood doors, complete with their original furniture, the pretty, symmetrical Adamesque foyer employs much marbling with gold highlighting to Ionic pilastered decoration under a single-panel celling. The main staircase to the right of the foyer is modest, but a very attractive plaque to actress Meggle Albanesi, who died on 9 December 1923, is displayed In the enclosure. Enter the auditorium and be transported in spirit to Compton Verney, for here Is all the missing classical domesticity of the great house, on a grand scale.

The dress circle is five rows deep and the upper circle eight, each behind close-balustered serpentine fronts. The superb polished walnut lining to this classical Interior presents a slightly Incongruous combination of considerable scale and the domestic theatre. Giant Doric engaged columns dominate the auditorium under a triglyph frieze and mutule cornice; the whole Is crowned by a fine glazed circular domed ceiling within a dentllled surround. An eye-catching focal point within the proscenium arch Is the silver and gold Willoughby de Broke coat of arms. A noticeable feature of the auditorium, meanwhile, Is the welcome absence of lighting banks, which mar so many otherwise fine Interiors. Wall coverings are a not unattractive pink with gold pattern.
A good dress-circle bar overlooking West Street has a series of Mousetrap cartoons lining its walls, commemorating the house's longest- running show.
Although late In date, the timber machinery contained under the stage Is superb. A grave trap, corner traps, bridges and slotes survive in good condition In a deep cellar and mezzanine. The ensemble is to some extent damaged by an intrusive brick-built control room within the sub¬stage area, but with care all could be restored. Flying is achieved by a combination of hemp and counterweighting.
St Martin’s opened on 23 November 1916, with a performance of Houp La! produced by Frank Collins and directed by C. B. Cochran. John Galsworthy's Sin Game had an extended run In the early 1920s, and in 1921 A Bill of Divorcement established the exceptional quality of Meggle Albanesi, who was to die at the age of just 24, before she could reach her full potential. In 1925 The Ghost Train by Arnold Ridley ran for over 650 performances. The Shop at Sly Corner found success In 1945, and Sleuth ended its record run in 1974 when The Mousetrap was transferred from the Ambassadors Theatre. The world's longest-running play has been in St Martin’s since that date, and looks set to run for some time to come.

1916. Theatre designed by W. G. R. Sprague for 19th Baron Willoughby de Broke; opened on 23 November / Statutorily Listed Historic Building: Grade II

The decorative treatment of the auditorium / Rare survival of timber stage machinery.