Empire Cinema

Details

This List description was amended on 6 September 2010

GREAT YARMOUTH

TG5307SW MARINE PARADE 839-1/17/96 (West side) 15/02/90 Empire Cinema

GV II

Cinema; built in 1911; designed by Arthur S Hewitt; built of gault brick, its facade clad in Leeds Fireclay Company vitreous buff terracotta. The east facade is of three bays, and the building is thirteen bays long.

EXTERIOR: The wider and taller central bay is framed by pairs of giant reeded and fluted Ionic columns rising from pedestals to block entablatures with tall blocks over. Each of these blocks contains a wreath encircling the date, 19 and 11 respectively. Between the pedestals wide steps rise up to the timber panelled entrance flanked by curved ticket booths and set within a wide, decorated round arch. The entrance is partly glazed, including the ticket booths. Above the arch is a moulded cornice below a balcony with balustrade and three round headed arches fronting deeply recessed windows. The three arches are slightly recessed below a wide segmental arch, above which is the name of the cinema, The Empire. Above this, the cornice that originally spanned the three bays is missing. The north and south elevations continue with decorative terracotta cladding for one bay, the remaining twelve bays marked by blind arches below mainly blind round windows.

INTERIOR: The entrance lobby has a terrazzo floor and a decoratively patterned plasterwork ceiling. Stairs rising from the lobby to the balcony are lined with marble, and lit by round stained glass windows at the upper level. The auditorium has a barrel vaulted ceiling with an apsidal end, and with decorative plasterwork ribs, each rib curving down to meet the pilasters that line the walls at balcony level. These rise to a moulded cornice. Between ceiling panels and cornice are curved panels decorated with cherubs and garlands, and between the pilasters are roundels decorated with leaf swags. The ground floor has arcaded panels to the side walls. The balcony sweeps round the auditorium almost all the way to the proscenium arch, and is decorated with leaves, swags and paired mermaids, their forearms projecting outwards. The side pillars of the proscenium arch have been removed, although their capitals remain, supporting a deep cornice above which, at either end, are urns. Behind the arch is a fly tower and balcony.

HISTORY: Great Yarmouth began its development as a resort in the first half of the C19. The first resort building, The Royal Hotel (Grade II), was constructed in 1840. The Victoria Building Company, established in 1841, intended to develop the South Beach area but only the Brandon and Kimberly Terraces (1841) and Victoria Hotel (1842) were constructed in a derivative Regency style. As the resort developed, terraced housing and two piers were constructed; Wellington Pier in 1853 and to the north Britannia Pier in 1857. In the late Victorian and Edwardian period, in addition to terraced housing, a range of entertainment structures were erected along Marine Parade, including an aquarium, the Winter Gardens and two cinemas. The development of the resort was led by the Borough Council at this time, in particular by the Borough Surveyor, J. W Cockrill (1849-1924) who also designed five designated buildings in Great Yarmouth and Gorleston.

Moving picture shows developed as more than just a fairground novelty in America in 1902. In Britain their potential as a seaside attraction quickly became evident to entrepreneurs following the1907 opening in Colne, Lancashire, of probably the first purpose-built cinema in the country. Between 1907 and the outbreak of war in 1914 thirty-four resort based companies were established promoting this new form of entertainment. The first purpose-built cinema to open in Great Yarmouth was The Gem, also one of the earliest in the country, and was followed in 1911 by The Empire, which opened in July of that year. The Empire is no longer used as a cinema, but alterations made in the late C20 include the removal of the side pillars of the proscenium arch, presumably to allow for a wider screen. Other changes include the loss of the overarching cornice from the main façade, and inside, the removal of all ground floor auditorium seating (the seats in the balcony remain), as well as alterations to the entrance to the dressing room area below the stage, and the modification of this space for use as part of the night club, the most recent use of the building. At some time in the late C20 the forearms of the mermaids around the balcony were removed; these were rediscovered recently, and the mermaids were restored.

SOURCES: Atwell, D, 'Cathedrals of the Movies' (1979), 7. Brodie, A and Winter, G, 'England's Seaside Resorts', English Heritage, (2007). Ferry, K, 'Powerhouses of Provincial Architecture 1837-1914' The Victorian Society, (2009), 45 -58. Gray, R, 'Cinemas in Britain' (1996), 19-20. Martin, J, 'Cockrill-Doulton Patent Tiles' www.buildingconservation.com. Pearson, L, 'People's Palaces Britain's Seaside Pleasure Buildings' (1991), 53-65. www.lynnpearson.co.uk , accessed on 22nd Feb 2010. Pevsner, N and Wilson, B 'The Buildings of England: Norfolk 1 Norwich and the North-East' 2nd Ed (1997), 488-529. www.pastscape.org.uk, accessed 21st August 2009.

REASON FOR DESIGNATION: The Empire Cinema, opened in 1911, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Historic interest: It is of historic interest as an early purpose-built cinema which retains some features indicative of its original use. * Architectural interest: It is of special architectural interest for its elaborate façade, and as an example of early cinema architecture in Britain. * Interior: It contains good quality decorative plasterwork to ceilings, walls and balcony. * Intactness: Despite some later C20 alterations, it retains its form and decorative detail.

Listing NGR: TG5306907497

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

468543

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry