New Theatre Royal New Theatre Royal The New Theatre Royal is a Victorian Grade II* listed theatre in the heart of Portsmouth, England, with a capacity of 667. The theatre building was constructed in 1854 as Landport Hall. It was converted to a theatre two years later. It was rebuilt in 1884 by Charles J. Phipps and again in 1900 by Frank Matcham. The Theatre reopened in October 2015 after a £4.7M refurbishment project. The present site was built to replace a theatre located in the High Street (now designated "old Portsmouth". The theatre features in Charles Dickens' novel "Nicholas Nickleby". A popular
Portsmouth is the Portsmouth Grammar School, which has been rated as one of the best private schools in the country. The Portsmouth High School, a member of the Girls Day School Trust, was ranked one of the top private schools for girls in the UK by A-level results in 2013. Other independent schools in the city include Mayville High School, founded in 1897, and St John's College, an independent Catholic boarding school. Many of the city's former defences are now museums, or venues for hosting events. Several of the Victorian era forts on Portsdown Hill are now tourist attractions: Fort Nelson,