THEATRES AND CINEMAS

BEFORE THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY:
Despite the appearance of a WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE in the 1540 Muster Roll for WALTON ON THE WOLDS, there is no evidence that the other SHAKESPEARE ever visited LOUGHBOROUGH. But, in the time honoured historians' phrase, "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" so who knows? Let's say no evidence has been found... yet!

However, it is thought that his company performed in LEICESTER and LORD MORDEN's company of actors did once visit SYSTON. However, the then parson of the village seems not to have approved of such goings on and paid the company a shilling (5p) to go away! This may have been a shrewd financial move, as a brother rector had only recently been fined 3/8d (19p) for allowing "puppet plays in the church". So the SYSTON incumbent could not only feel righteous but was also 2/8d (14p) up on the deal!

Even though direct evidence is scanty, a town such as LOUGHBOROUGH would almost certainly have received visits from all sorts of touring entertainers, especially on the days of the thriving markets and fairs. One visit which is recorded is that of a travelling menagerie which brought wild animals (one suspects rather moth-eaten) into the market place. However, this event in the summer of 1579 had fatal consequences for ROGER SHEPPARD, six year old stepson of Nicholas Wollands: "He was sleayne by a Lyoness whiche was brought into the town to be seyne as would gyve money to see her. He was sore wounded in sundry places, he was buried on August 21st 1579".

Early market place entertainments tended to be rather basic in their appeal. There would probably always have been a guaranteed audience for the stocks, pillory and whipping post. Indeed, part the whole purpose of these punishments was that they should be carried out in public - and the public never seemed to be shy of taking their part.

Many "entertainments" would have involved animals, usually through their torture or death. One favourite such "sport" was cockfighting which also seems to have taken place in and around the market place. The original name for DERBY SQUARE was "COCKPIT BANK". Bear baiting was also carried on although the location of the bear pit is not known for certain. However the town did have a bear warden, one of the most prominent of whom was called GEORGE WARD. He seems to have had quite a sizeable income and no doubt ill-affordable sums would have been wagered on the short lives of these animals. Amazingly, bull baiting was compulsory as all cattle had to be baited before slaughter. The reasons for this are unclear but there was a heavy fine for those who did not perform it.

Other entertainments would centre around festivals and significant times of the year such as MAY DAY, SHEEP SHEARING and, of course, the town FAIRS. All of these would almost certainly involve dancing, music, pedlars and travelling entertainers of some sort. Seasonal festivals and those connected to the annual cycle of sowing and harvest would have been enjoyed since the earliest days of humanity. MARKETS and FAIRS were comparative late comers, having their official beginning with the Royal Charters of 1221 and 1227. However, unofficial markets and trading would have been carried on long before this.

Performances of any kind in the market Place would have had to be totally self contained, bringing their stage, set and everything else they needed with them. Inn yards were a favourite venue - there was plenty of room and the closeness of the ale was a huge plus in luring audiences. If needed, extra benches and stools could also be brought out of the inn for the audiences to use. During the fairs themselves, a more prominent position would be needed to compete with all the other attractions. Needless to say, all performances would have had to take place in daylight, as would those in the purpose built London theatres such as the GLOBE and the ROSE. This is one reason why, in SHAKESPEARE's texts, scenes set at night are almost always marked by the characters talking about how dark it is - there was no other way for the audiences to know!

The only indoor space regularly used for performances was also on the Market Place. Built in 1688, the COURT LEET CHAMBER was a large room on massive wooden pillars over an open space where butchers slaughtered cattle and sheep. This chamber was the meeting place for local government - a sort of early Council Chamber - and was also used as a ballroom and theatre.

THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY:
Although there was no purpose built theatre in LOUGHBOROUGH in the eighteenth century, there are records of visits by touring companies. As in previous centuries, almost all of these would be self contained, using what became known as a "fit-up" theatre and seating which would have to be erected and dismantled for every venue. To this day, the period when a theatre is being got ready for a new production - scenery installed, lighting rigged etc - is known as the "fit-up". Tickets for these performances would usually be sold through a local contact, usually in a shop or Inn. As all theatre performances were tours, a visit from a company would be a special event for just a few weeks out of the year - rather like circuses today. Runs in a particular place could last from a few days to a couple of months, depending on the size of the venue and potential audiences. A typical pattern would have been performances on three or four nights a week with rehearsals on the other days.

The one exception to the "self-contained" company was the old COURT CHAMBER on the Market Place, which doubled as a performance space. Records show that in 1746 performers could make up to £30 a night performing here!

But for the most part, theatre meant touring companies. One of the earliest references to a LOUGHBOROUGH tour is in 1771 when "Mr Stanton's Company of Comedians" arrived in town with their "New Theatre". They performed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 6.00pm and evidently made a little extra profit by offering "behind the scenes" tours for a small charge. Although calling themselves "comedians", one play in their repertoire was "A Tragedy called King Lear and His Three Daughters", with others called "Midas"", Prejudice Punished" and "The Enchanted Island", based on "The Tempest". It seems that sometimes more than one was performed each night. The audience certainly couldn't complain about value for money! Other productions on show in LOUGHBOROUGH in the late eighteenth century included works by Joseph Addison, George Colman, Samuel Foote, William Congreve and David Garrick.

Many such tours would come to LOUGHBOROUGH at the invitation - and under the patronage - of notable local people. In the playbills of 1771, performances are listed as appearing "by desire of Mr and Mrs Packe", "for Mr and Mrs Phillips" and "by desire of the Loughborough Hunt".

THE NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES:
The early 1800s saw the construction of Loughborough's first theatre buildings. At this time, however, there were no resident companies and the new theatres still relied on touring companies to fill their seats. Theatre was still a seasonal activity, the buildings surviving for the rest of the time as ballrooms, meeting places and music venues.

SPARROW HILL THEATRE:
This was the earliest of the town's theatres to be built and opened on June 2nd 1823. Local subscribers paid £700 for the building and the first theatre manager was a Mr Bennett who had toured here before with the Worcester Theatre Royal. The sloped-roof building still exists on SPARROW HILL opposite the main post office. Measuring just 27 ft by 41 ft, it is about the same size as the famous Georgian Theatre in Richmond, Yorkshire. The first productions to be performed here were two plays entitled "Speed the Plough" and "The Warlock of the Glen", playing in a six-week season. But the theatre had only patchy success and some years there were no productions here at all. There was a modest revival in the 1830s, leading to a major investment when gas lighting was installed in 1845. But the hoped for boom never materialised and the SPARROW HILL THEATRE closed for regular productions in 1848. Despite several "one-off" performances the building was sold and became a Free Church in 1855. In later years it became an Oddfellows Hall, mostly used for lectures and the occasional performance. Some of the earliest film shows in the town took place here, as did dancing lessons until the building was again sold in 1945 to become Adkinson and Freckleton's Auction Mart. More recently, it has been transformed into a shop selling variously bicycles, carpets and now camping supplies. The building is easily recognisable from the Oddfellows Crest which is still displayed on the front wall.

LOUGHBOROUGH TOWN HALL THEATRE, MARKET PLACE:
(For the history of the Town Hall itself, please see "BUILDINGS")
Although not at first intended for use as a theatre, entertainment was an integral part of the Town Hall from the outset. This may well have been influenced by its position on the Market Place, close to the centuries old tradition of public performances. The legendary "GENERAL TOM THUMB" was one of its earliest visitors in a show staged here for just two days in March of 1859. A Performance Licence for Drama was first granted to the building in 1888 although there was no permanent stage here at that time. Nor was it apparently very popular with performers, being called "a miserable barn" with "four bare walls, no balcony, no stage". Staging had to be supplied by the performers themselves and a leaking roof played havoc with both players and audiences.

Luckily, huge improvements were undertaken when the town Corporation bought the building, including the installation of a proscenium stage, a gallery, dressing rooms, offices and a kitchen. The bill for all this for 1901 came to just under a staggering £20,000. Productions began to flock to the new Town Hall Theatre and a real rivalry grew up between it and the NEW THEATRE in Ashby Road. But when the NEW THEATRE burned down in 1901, the Payne Seddon Company at the Town Hall had the audiences all to themselves. The Town Hall management saw there was profit to be made here but further improvements would be needed if they were to attract a regular programme. Unfortunately, the wheels of local government ground so slow that the companies grew tired of waiting for a decision, let alone for the work to be completed. In 1905 Payne Seddon set up his own theatre - the THEATRE ROYAL - and left the Town Hall to their deliberations. However, his new venture was not a success and by 1910 had been converted into a cinema. SEDDON returned to touring and there can have been no ill feeling towards him as his company returned to the CORN EXCHANGE theatre many times.

The early 1900s saw the Town Hall also diversifying into film screenings - a popular but sometimes dangerous business, given the highly flammable nature of early film. New safety laws brought in in 1909 made the exercise somewhat less hazardous. Throughout all this period, the first floor Victoria Room remained as a popular venue for balls and dances while the Corn Exchange Theatre staged plays, larger dances, sales, bazaars and a host of civic and private functions. Gradual improvements to the lighting added to its popularity for dancing but overall, the venue was seen as becoming very tired and grubby through the 30s and 40s. Letters to the local press in the early 1950s complained of it being filthy and there was an increasing possibility that the whole place might be demolished to make way for a car park or supermarket. But in the 1970s, the council bravely decided to bite the bullet and authorised over £100,000 worth of improvements. With just two weeks to go before re-opening in April 1972, an electrical fault sent fire ripping through the building, all but destroying the new Theatre. The Council, however, was determined and immediately authorised the work to start all over again at a cost this time of £300,000. Finally, on Friday September 5th 1975, the new Charnwood Theatre opened to great ceremony and a completely new entertainment staff. One ground-breaking feature of the programming at this time was the regular Sunday screenings of Asian films, a move which proved to be immensely popular.

Support for the new venture had continued when LOUGHBOROUGH Town Council became CHARNWOOD Borough Council in 1974, their faith in it finding concrete form in another major refurbishment in the 1990s. LOUGHBOROUGH TOWN HALL has now become a major performing venue, presenting both professional and amateur productions and the now traditional mix of fairs, sales, concerts and Beer Festivals! Its central location makes it a popular meeting place and it seems to be going from strength to strength.

LOUGHBOROUGH PHILHARMONIC HALL / REGENT THEATRE, SOUTHFIELDS ROAD:
The rather grandly name PHILHARMONIC HALL was in fact a modestly sized building. It was located on SOUTHFIELDS ROAD where the building still exists next to the Beehive Lane Car Park. It was opened in 1888 as a venue for the local Philharmonic Society, run and financed by hosiery manufacturer Francis White. It was his firm which owned the land on which it was built. When opened, it was very much a concert hall rather than a theatre but was still used occasionally by local amateur theatre groups and touring companies. There was seating capacity for up to 450, together with a dressing room, balcony and basement for storage. White was a great music enthusiast and did much to encourage concert going in the town. The Hall was sold by auction in 1906 and again in 1912, when it was bought by Mr Paget of Southfields House. (This was situated opposite the hall and was later to become the home of CHARNWOOD BOROUGH COUNCIL). In later years, the hall was bought by Emmanuel Church and became the Emmanuel Church Hall. Throughout all these changes, however, the Philharmonic Society continued to use it for concerts.

In 1946, the Hall was sold again to local dance entrepreneur GEORGE PEPPER and became the REGENT BALLROOM. Despite lavish advertising, the venture was not a success and was changed yet again a year later. This time it became the REGENT REPERTORY THEATRE AND RESTAURANT, opening with a production of "WUTHERING HEIGHTS". But this did not seem to work either; the theatre had closed again by Autumn 1948 and the restaurant restricted to advertising Saturday lunches only. It's last rather surreal incarnation was as a short-lived roller skating rink before closing for good in November 1948. Perhaps the building's position outside the centre of town accounts for it's continued failure to attract customers of any description.

The building was bought by local department store magnates CLEMERSONS in 1949 who used it to store furniture until they went out of business themselves in 1971. Apart from a brief spell as theatrical hire company "Messrs Cleat and Line" between 1984-6 the building has been used ever since as various forms of car repair business. The only remaining clue as to it's former life is a faded sign on the Southfield Road side of the building proclaiming REGENT THEATRE AND RESTAURANT. This gets harder to see with each passing year but is a poignant reminder of past glories.

THE NEW THEATRE, ASHBY ROAD:
The NEW THEATRE opened on September 15th 1896 with "Sydney Vereker's No 1 Company" in "JACK OF HEARTS", written by Mr Vereker himself. It was at the outset a temporary structure, built of wood and corrugated iron and was only granted a license as such. This could have been attempt by the licensee, Kate Howard, to "test the water" before attempting to set up a permanent theatre as, after the success of the opening season the building was considerably extended. The construction of the building meant fire was always a risk and smoking was, unusually for the time, strictly prohibited. However, the precautions were not effective and the NEW THEATRE burned down in August 1901, just one day into their new season.

Ms Howard fully intended to rebuild the theatre but, after such a fire, the council was wary of granting a new license, especially with the site being so close to the town gas works. The theatre management argued that the new building would be of stone rather than wood but the council would not be persuaded. After much arguing and delay, permission was granted to use the site to build a roller skating rink - "THE PREMIER SKATING RINK" - which opened with much ballyhoo on May 10th, 1909. The venue ws heavily advertised but they seem to have set out their stall too late as the skating craze was beginning to die down. Profits dwindled and the rink closed after only eighteen months, along with all others in the Premier chain.

The building got it's second relaunch in 1911 when it reopened as the LOUGHBOROUGH PICTURE PLAYHOUSE, but the new venture's success was patchy and short lived. The running of the new cinema was taken over by a new company in July 1913 and received it's official opening from no less than the Mayor of LOUGHBOROUGH. Things went well for the new venture until 1921 when it was faced with it's first real competition - the VICTORY CINEMA on BIGGIN STREET. After a shaky few years, it seemed that the cinema had found their saving grace, announced in the local press as "The Miracle of the Age... De Forest Phone Films... Pictures that actually sing and talk". The age of the talkie had arrived in LOUGHBOROUGH! - but, it seems, too late to save the PICTURE PLAYHOUSE. In June 1927, it closed down and was reopened in September as the PREMIER DANCE HALL, boasting "one of the finest dance floors in the country". A proposal to demolish the building and replace it with a new cinema to be called the REGAL never got beyond the drawing board and in 1933 the PREMIER was sold to local cinema owner CHARLES DEEMING. He had many other interests in the area and when a ballroom was included in his rebuilding of the EMPIRE CINEMA, the PREMIER became redundant. Consequently, in 1936 it was sold to the LOUGHBOROUGH COLLEGE, which owned several other buildings close to the former ballroom, and converted for use by their Aeronautical Engineering Department. After one last incarnation as a College Refectory, the building was finally demolished in the 1970s and the site is now the part of SAINSBURY's car park which is located next to the EASTERN GARDEN restaurant.

THE TEMPERANCE HALL / PALAIS DE DANCE, CORNER OF CATTLE MARKET and GRANBY STREET:
Opened in 1900, this was a second floor hall seating about 500. Although used by amateur companies, the hall housed mostly meetings and concerts, especially in it's early days. Fairs, dances, bazaars and recitals filled most of it's programming and by 1917 it had also become known as the YMCA Hall. Gradually, dancing took over as the Hall's primary concern and the hall soon became known as the PALAIS DE DANSE. It was undoubtedly popular but as time went on, it began to acquire a rather sleazy reputation and closed as an entertainment centre in the 1920s. The building still exists and is now being used as shops and offices.

THE THEATRE ROYAL, MILL STREET:
This was another of LOUGHBOROUGH's theatres which became a cinema later in its life. It was an unusual building in that the entrance was on MARKET STREET (then called MILL STREET) but the auditorium was on PACKE STREET, down a long corridor which bridged the WOODBROOK. As has been seen in the section on LOUGHBOROUGH TOWN HALL, the theatre was started by touring manager PAYNE SEDDON who had been a regular at the Corn Exchange Theatre. The council's refusal to allow the rebuilding of the burned out NEW THEATRE in 1901 encouraged SEDDON and his partner ROBERTSON to "go it alone" and their plans were submitted in 1904. These were at first turned down, probably because the Council was hoping to use their own CORN EXCHANGE THEATRE as a base for SEDDON's company, rather than setting him up as a rival. Many technical objections were made but SEDDON met them all and permission was finally granted to build THE THEATRE ROYAL.

The auditorium had raked seating with a sizeable balcony, dressing rooms below the stage and two bars. There was both gas and electric lighting and its central location would seem to have been ideal. But despite all this, the theatre could not even attract a full house for its opening night production: "MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE". Business did not improve and in April 1910, SEDDON pulled out of the theatre and converted it, like so many of its fellows, into a cinema: "VINT'S ELECTRIC HIPPODROME". "Vint" was Leon Vint, a one-time variety performer turned proprietor with an enviable track record - and this time the first performance sold out. The HIPPODROME seems to have been a great success but in 1914, advertisements suddenly stopped and Leon Vint had disappeared. His business acumen was apparently not as great as it seemed and a bankruptcy suit put an end to not only the HIPPODROME, but many other of his business ventures.

The theatre went back to its old name, the THEATRE ROYAL, and back to staging plays. It is not known who owned it at this time but the theatre seems to have been at least modestly successful and it continued to operate regularly until May 1931, when it was hit by a devastating fire. Although the safety curtain saved the auditorium, the stage and dressing rooms were completely lost. What was left of the building was sold to the Universal Car Company who, after extensive repairs, reopened it as a cinema in November 1931 in the presence of the Mayor and Mayoress. The plan was to alternate talking films and stage shows week by week and the new venture was greeted by the LOUGHBOROUGH MONITOR as "one of the most comfortable and artistic places of amusement in the Midlands". Throughout the 1940s, the programme was dominated by variety, revue and "girlie" shows of increasing dubiousness. By the 1950s, the theatre had been bought up by the ubiquitous Charles Deeming who had his doubts about the place. With high-class shows just a short distance away in Leicester and Nottingham, LOUGHBOROUGH was left with the lower end of the theatrical spectrum - nude shows and small scale tours. Arts Council sponsored tours only served to show up the tattiness of the rest of the season and the early days of television was beginning to take its toll on theatres everywhere. In February 1953, following an amateur production of "MERRIE ENGLAND" by the LOUGHBOROUGH AMATEUR OPERATIC SOCIETY, the THEATRE ROYAL closed its doors for the last time, just two years short of its fiftieth birthday.

During its life, the theatre had played host to such names as Beryl Reid, Eric Sykes, Norman Wisdom, Arthur English, Max Wall, Edmund Hockridge, Peter Brough and Hylda Baker. After closure, the building was used for various purposes, mostly warehousing, until 1971 when the final tenant left. After a year derelict, it was demolished in July 1972 and the site sold by DEEMING to KWIK-SAVE SUPERMARKETS.

THE EMPIRE CINEMA, CATTLEMARKET (NOW THE CURZON):
The EMPIRE CINEMA opened its doors on September 14th, 1914. It was built by a company called "LOUGHBOROUGH NEW EMPIRE LTD" and a whole row of houses was demolished to make room for its construction. This was a huge undertaking with one thousand seats, rich gold ornamentation and electric lighting. The Mayor of LOUGHBOROUGH, Thomas Mayo, performed the opening ceremony. The films, which changed twice a week, were complemented by variety and music hall acts which were engaged by the week. Immediately, the new cinema had to contend with competition from the THEATRE ROYAL and the NEW PLAYHOUSE but confidence was high. By 1915 films were being screened by the EMPIRE all through the day, complete with free tea and biscuits at the cafe on the same premises. All through the 1920s there was little doubt that the EMPIRE was the premier entertainment house in the town. Improvements were made and alterations carried out in the late 1920a to include a tobacco and sweet shop in the foyer area.

Abel Gance's silent masterpiece "NAPOLEON" was shown here in 1929, just three years after it was completed. The screening were accompanied by a full orchestra under the control of the cinema's own musical director. When talkies arrived at the VICTORY cinema on BIGGIN STREET, the now redundant musicians joined those at the EMPIRE, some doubling as tea-room players in the cafe in the afternoons. But progress was relentless and in 1930 the EMPIRE too went over to talkies signalling the end of the cinema orchestra for all time.

In 1933, CHARLES DEEMING came into the picture yet again when he bought the EMPIRE from PERCY OSWIN, together with his Universal Car Company. This was the beginning of the end for the EMPIRE. He immediately began to plan and build the NEW EMPIRE directly behind the original, which continued to screen films right up till the new project was competed. The last film screening at the original EMPIRE was on March 28th 1936 and just two days later, the NEW EMPIRE was open for business. The front of the old building was then remodelled to become the main entrance of the NEW EMPIRE and many of its original features are still clearly visible in its latest incarnation as the CURZON CINEMA.

March 1936 was also the month that the NEW EMPIRE's main rival, the ODEON CINEMA opened in LOUGHBOROUGH, so there was no "honeymoon" period for the new venture. After an opening ceremony, again performed by the Mayor, the NEW EMPIRE went straight into its first main feature - Will Hay's comedy "BOYS WILL BE BOYS". As the old premises were still being converted into an entrance foyer, Palm Court, ballroom and restaurant, access to the cinema was through a temporary entrance in WOODGATE. Always the businessman, DEEMING had tickets on sale not only in the cinema itself but also at his other ventures, the VICTORY and the THEATRE ROYAL. And in a move which could be seen either as charitable or shrewd PR, all proceeds from the first screening were donated to the LOUGHBOROUGH hospital!

The NEW EMPIRE - soon to become known popularly as simply THE EMPIRE - was a success on all fronts. Cinema, ballroom and restaurant all complemented each other and, despite competition from the ODEON, the future looked bright. There was still the occasional concert on the small stage area but on nothing the like the scale of previous multi-purpose houses. The EMPIRE even played a small part in history when the JARROW MARCHERS passed through LOUGHBOROUGH in October 1936. Following a tea in the town hall, DEEMING gave them 200 free seats for that day's screening.

Everything changed in February 1953 when CHARLES DEEMING sold the EMPIRE to the ESSOLDO cinema chain from Newcastle. When his semi-retirement was announced, the local press published warm and sincere tributes to the man who had played such an important part in the history of entertainment in LOUGHBOROUGH. He and his wife continued to live at their home, "ONE ASH", which still stands on the A6 on the northern edge of QUORN, just before the by-pass roundabout.

The ESSOLDO chain, which had also bought the VICTORY - soon began to make changes at the former EMPIRE. On the distinctive front tower (originally the housing for a water tank) was built an eye-catching, or, according to some, vulgar neon sign proclaiming it's new name. The restaurant was closed down in 1966 and while some live concerts were still staged, the decline in the popularity of both cinema and dancing led to the biggest changes. In the early 1970s, ESSOLDO had been taken over by the TIGON group, which also owned CLASSIC CINEMAS. The ESSOLDO's great LOUGHBOROUGH rival, the ODEON had become a CLASSIC CINEMA in 1967 so the same company now owned both buildings, and the ESSOLDO was renamed the CURZON. In 1973, ambitious plans were announced to split the CURZON into three cinemas, a bingo hall and a discotheque, converted out of the ballroom. This new venture went through and the triple cinema opened in June 1973, followed by the disco at the end of November. The bingo hall did not go ahead, mainly because the CLASSIC (formerly the ODEON) was about to be sold off to MECCA as a full scale Bingo Hall. The area earmarked for this (the old stage and front stalls) later became a snooker club.

In 1974, the sale of the CLASSIC (formerly the ODEON) went through, converting it into the MECCA BINGO HALL. Confusing matters even further, the CURZON - formerly the ESSOLDO, formerly the NEW EMPIRE and originally the EMPIRE - was then renamed THE CLASSIC! Luckily for everyone's sanity, it was quickly leased to SUE and ANDREW WALKER who returned it to the name CURZON - this time for good! The WALKERS wasted no time in creating a fourth cinema but it was not until 1985 that a further subdivision created a small fifth cinema, or, as it was soon to become known, Screen Five. By this time, the decline in ticket sales had been spectacularly reversed during the cinema boom of the 1980s. In 1991, this renewed interest led to the opening of a sixth screen at the CURZON by, once again, the Mayor. This was not the only change in the 1990s. Once again there was a cafeteria in the old Palm Court area and space for a shop was also created in the outer foyer. For years was occupied by the theatrical costume and fancy dress business "ANTICS", which closed down only recently. The CURZON may now be LOUGHBOROUGH's only cinema but with six screens, there are now twice as many films to choose from per night than when there were three!

THE VICTORY CINEMA, BIGGIN STREET:
It seems a great shame that this, LOUGHBOROUGH's premier cinema of its day, should be best remembered during its decline as a rather grubby "flea-pit". It was the first purpose built cinema in the town, opening in September 1921, and although not the first to show "talkies", the VICTORY was the first to use state of the art equipment. It was run by the same company as the EMPIRE and was of a magnificent, plush design rather at odds with its location down a comparative side street. Sound equipment, however, was expensive and ticket prices had to be raised to cover the extra cost. As has been seen, the arrival of sound signalled the end for the "in-house" orchestra, most of whom moved to the EMPIRE. However, this was just a temporary reprieve until the EMPIRE also went over to sound.

The VICTORY underwent a major overhaul in 1938, including the replacement of all the seating. One innovation which was highly popular with the younger generation was the addition of double "courting" seats in the back two rows. Many people of a certain generation, my own parents included, have very fond memories of these facilities - and I would wager not one of them can remember the name of the film they were supposedly there to watch! A couple of hours in the dark away from parents must have been well worth the cost of admission!

After the THEATRE ROYAL closed in 1953, CHARLES DEEMING sold both the VICTORY and EMPIRE cinemas to the ESSOLDO group. Two ESSOLDOS in one town would have been rather ridiculous, so the VICTORY retained its own name. It also had another "first" in the shape of a revolutionary new system for changing over projectors automatically, a system which quickly spread to almost all other cinemas. The VICTORY's superior acoustics and projection standards made it the favoured choice af "serious" filmgoers. Even DEEMING himself regarded it as the natural venue for high class films, whereas "popular" pictures were better suited to the EMPIRE. Despite this, the reputation of the VICTORY was sinking during the 1950s. Its relative inaccessibility almost certainly played a part in this: takings and standards were both dropping steadily. When the end came it was startlingly sudden. In January 1967, halfway through an advertised seven day run and with no warning, the VICTORY simply closed down. The last film to be screened there was called, with a sharp irony, "THE EXTERMINATOR". By the summer of the same year THE VICTORY had been demolished, to be replaced by another supermarket, this time called SUPASAVE. Ironically, this too fell victim to the curse of BIGGIN STREET and closed down itself some years later. In exchange for a magnificent piece of cinema history we now have a row of characterless red brick retail units.

THE ODEON, BAXTER GATE (NOW BEACON BINGO):
The magnificent and determinedly "thirties" ODEON was built on the former site of the LOUGHBOROUGH HEAD POST OFFICE and opened in November 1936. The chain had only been in existence for three years and was founded by OSCAR DEUTSCH, the son of Jewish immigrants from Birmingham. Popular tradition maintains that the name "ODEON" was an acronym for "Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation" but whether the name or the phrase came first is not known for certain. The LOUGHBOROUGH ODEON was one of almost thirty cinemas opened by DEUTSCH in that year, all of which were built to a broadly similar design. Even the fixtures and fittings were identical, all of them being manufactured by a subsidiary company run by DEUTSCH. The LEMYNGTON STREET side of the building is plain in the extreme, probably because in the 1930s the street was just a narrow passageway and it was thought that the side would not be seen. The art deco style cinema had seats for 1,625 and was built at a published cost of £50,000.

The Opening Ceremony was, again, attended by the Mayor and featured not only the Gary Cooper film "MR DEEDS GOES TO TOWN" but also music from the Band of the Fifth Battalion, The Leicestershire Regiment. On DEUTSCH's early death in 1941, J Arthur Rank himself took over as Chair of the chain and pumped a considerable amount of Rank money into it. Although built specifically for films, the ODEON also staged concerts every now and then. This became more prevalent during the Second World War when programmes included concerts by full symphony orchestras. All possibility of stage performances ended, however, in 1953 with the installation of Cinemascope which took out almost all of the old stage area.

RANK sold the ODEON to the CLASSIC chain in 1967 and it became the VOGUE SOCIAL CLUB, a Bingo Hall in all but name. Cinema soon returned, however and the ODEON operated as the CLASSIC CINEMA until January 1974 when it became the MECCA BINGO CLUB. In an extremely confusing move, the former ESSOLDO cinema in the Market Place was immediately renamed THE CLASSIC!

In 1977, JAMES THOMAS bought the building from MECCA and ran it as BEACON BINGO. The new management was - and continues to be - exemplary in the way they have preserved the unique features of the original building. Their care and attention to detail means LOUGHBOROUGH now has one of the best preserved 1930s cinema buildings in the country - and probably the only one still to have its original auditorium intact.