The doors to the vacant Queen's Theatre in Burslem opened over the weekend (19 September) as part of a Heritage Open Days event.

IFK Legacy CIC - the team behind the Lemmy statue – hosted a series of tours around the Grade II-listed building which they hope to reopen as a music venue.

The group hope to secure funding and refurbish the theatre to reopen it as Kilmister Halls, a music and community venue named in honour of Burslem-born Motörhead frontman, Lemmy.

The plans build on the momentum from the unveiling of the Lemmy statue in Market Place, Burslem in May 2025 and the opening of Old No. 6, a visitor centre and bar, in May this year.

David Ovenden, of IFK Legacy CIC, said that the plans for Kilmister Halls are part of their ambition to "create a destination" to attract visitors to Burslem - as well as create a cultural hub for people in the city.

He added: "We had a sort of gut feeling that some things would happen from the back of it [unveiling the Lemmy statue].

"If you flip through the visitors book, you see all the foreign nationalities that are coming.

"And if they come here, let's keep them here, or if they're going to come again, let's make it a weekend trip."

The Queen's Theatre was completed in 1911 and served as a concert venue and theatre.

Over the years it was open, the venue hosted a wide range of events including political meetings, boxing matches, and music concerts.

The theatre closed to the public in 1998, only opening for occasional events before being closed again in 2014.

Local historian Mervyn Edwards led guided tours around the theatre recounting the building's history and significance to the Mother Town.

Before the event, the historian conducted research including oral testimonies from locals who remembered visiting the Queen's Theatre when it was open.

He said: "People remember the dancing, the Saturday night hops back in the 50s and 60s and more than that."

Mervyn shared that in one interview he learned that boxing matches were still being hosted at the venue in the 1980s.

"This is living memory," he added.

"This is really important because it is heart and soul Burslem.

"Buildings such as the Queen's Theatre are imbued with a human spirit, I think, a soul.

"It is massively important for people to sit down and convey their own memories because those buildings are part of what we are in Burslem."

To find out more about the plans for Kilmister Halls and the work of IFK Legacy CIC, visit the website here.

To donate to 'Lemmys Legacy Project', raising money to help with initial funding to pay for surveys and initial design fees, visit the IFK Legacy CIC GoFundMe here.

More photos of The Queen's Theatre (images via Liana Snape) :