Imagine stepping back in time to 1814. This very spot where the Cambridge Buddhist Centre stands was once the Barnwell Theatre. Designed by William Wilkins it replaced an earlier theatre.
The Cambridge Buddhist Centre has a rich and varied past. It wasn’t always a place of worship. For 63 years the Barnwell Theatre hosted many great actors. They were often supported by the Garrick Club players.
Think of James Sheridan Knowles performing his tragedy Virginius here. Picture William Macready in Macbeth and Othello. In 1860 Charles Kean and his wife performed Louis XI.
Each year the theatre staged Lillo’s tragedy George Barnwell. These shows were crowded. Free fights were frequent. The Cambridge Amateur Theatrical Society also performed here. They raised money for wounded soldiers during the Crimean War.
Charles Dickens himself gave readings in this theatre. He personally supervised a production of Little Em’ly. Imagine Dickens right here where we stand.
In 1878, the theatre was nearly modernized into a place of entertainment. Robert Sayle won the auction. But upon learning it would become a Mission Hall he let W T Mowell have it for less. It became the Barnwell Theatre Mission Hall.
The theatre was renamed the Festival Theatre in the 1920s. Terence Gray redesigned the stage using Edward Gordon Craig’s ideas. He added a permanent cyclorama. Joseph Macleod directed plays here. The theatre staged avant-garde works. It was one of the first in England to stage plays by Henrik Ibsen and Anton Chekhov.
During World War II Jean Holmes used the theatre as an entertainment center for soldiers. She cooked eggs for 250 soldiers one morning with Terry Thomas and Yehudi Menhin.
After the war the building became a store for electrical goods. Then it housed theatre costumes. The last theatre performance was The Seagull in 1997.
In 1998, the Windhorse Trust bought the building. It became the Cambridge Buddhist Centre. The building retains many features of its theatrical past. The Cambridge Buddhist Centre is now a place of worship.
Today the Cambridge Buddhist Centre is part of the Triratna Buddhist Community. The Triratna was formerly known as the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order. It was founded in 1967. Sangharakshita sought to spread Buddhism to the West.
The Cambridge Buddhist Centre offers courses in meditation and Buddhism. You can also join classes in yoga and Tai Chi. It has a bookshop and a tea room. Generosity is at the heart of this Buddhist community. Members give their time freely. The centre relies on donations to keep its activities alive.
So as you stand here remember the many lives of this building. From theatre to mission hall to Buddhist Centre this place has always been a center for community. It’s a place for performance faith and now inner peace.