WITH the doors of Chester’s Mecca Bingo Club having closed for the final time, local cinema history enthusiasts have been revisiting the building which was originally Chester’s first 'Super Cinema'.
Once known as The Gaumont Palace, Chester's first 2000 seat super cinema first opened exactly 92 years ago today (Monday, March 2) in 1931.
Local cinema historians Peter Davies, David A Ellis and Roger Shone have amassed a wealth of knowledge about the history of the city's long-lost cinemas as well as a treasure trove of memorabilia and archive photographs, forming the basis of their popular website - Chester Cinemas and UK Picture Palaces.
The Gaumont Palace was designed by Birmingham architect, William T. Benslyn and built by McLaughlin and Harvey of Highbury. Initially intended to be called 'The Regent' its owners, Provincial Cinematograph Theatres, were taken over by Gaumont British leading to a rebrand prior to opening.
The opulence of the ornate decoration was described as breath-taking. The auditorium was a masterpiece of plasterwork design, finished in pastel tones of orange, green, mauve, relieved in red and gold. The central ceiling feature was a dome that had concealed lighting. The cinema contained richly upholstered seats with luxurious carpet fitted throughout. It was boasted that the wide, 800 seat balcony, was probably the largest in Northern England.
Customers sitting in the stalls would be equally as comfortable as those in the balcony and a full working stage was included, with the intention to provide stage performances alongside big screen entertainment.
An oak panelled Tudor Restaurant which could accommodate 150 customers would make it a favourite dining venue for cinema goers and shoppers alike.
The Mayor of Chester, Councillor John Morris, officially opened the building. The first feature film shown was ‘On Approval’ starring Tom Walls & Yvonne Arnaud.
A John Compton 3Manual/8Rank Theatre Organ was installed at a cost of £10.000 and was played on the opening by renowned Organist, Leslie James. Many HMV gramophone recordings and radio broadcasts were made at The Gaumont Palace, mainly by the famous Organist, Sydney Gustard.
The cinema had the choice of all the main film releases and included many stage concerts, quickly establishing itself as Chester’s main entertainment venue. However, with the Odeon and ABC Regal opening in 1936/37, the Gaumont Palace’s film choice became restricted with the two new cinemas taking a large share of the first run feature films. After five years the cinema’s name was shortened to The Gaumont.
Business was buoyant during the cinema’s heyday in the 1940s. Stage shows remained popular, even a spectacular ice show ‘Rose Marie’ was staged during the 1950s. Many top stars of the day like Cliff Richard and Billy Fury appeared at The Gaumont.
Speaking about the demise of the cinema, Peter Davies, a former projectionist at the City's ABC Regal and Odeon cinemas said: "Extended runs of films like ‘South Pacific’, ‘The King and I”, drew thousands of movie goers to see the films to full advantage on the giant CinemaScope screen. Unfortunately, television and other sources of entertainment were beginning to impact large cinemas, who began to struggle to keep the huge buildings viable. The Gaumont was one of several cinemas in the city that the then owners, The Rank Organisation, decided to close. The final film, ‘The Marriage-Go-Round’ was shown on Saturday 9th December 1961.
"At a cost of £100,000, the building underwent major internal structural alterations which included removing the balcony and transforming it into a 24 lane, ten pin bowling alley. Top Rank Bowling lasted little more than nine years when the company decided to move the bingo operation from what was once the Majestic Cinema, also on Brook Street, to the much larger capacity of the old Gaumont building during 1970."
Despite name changes, bingo would continue to be played at the site for more than five decades.
More information about The Gaumont Palace, complete with archive photographs and memories of all Chester's lost cinemas can be found at: www.chestercinemas.co.uk.
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