It is 1929, and had I lived in Stockport I would have had a choice of 13 picture houses to visit, which was not bad for a population of 123, 315.
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| The Stockport 13, 1929 |
But then this was the age of cinema, when for a comparative small amount of money, you could sit in a warm “picture palace” and get lost in lavish musicals, romantic comedies, and exciting adventures starring the hot throbs of the period.
And I am reminded of this long lost bit of recent history by Andy Robertson’s photograph of the Wellington Picture House.
According to that excellent site of lost cinemas, it opened on July 11th 1921 with Hay Foxhall in ‘Only a Mill Girl’.
“The corner entrance has a dome, which was originally topped by a cupola. Seating in the auditorium was provided in stalls and circle levels.
The proscenium was 28 feet wide. The Wellington Picture House also contained a 13-table billiard hall and a café.
Independently operated, it was last operated by the Essoldo Cinemas chain who took over in 1948. Bingo was introduced for one day a week in 1961, and the Wellington Cinema was closed on 31st August 1963 with Hayley Mills in “Pollyanna”.
It was converted into a full time Essoldo Bingo Club, later becoming a Ladbrokes Bingo Club, and finally a Walkers Bingo Club. In recent years it has become a Riley’s snooker hall, which closed in 2012.
Local campaigners are trying to raise £500 to have a Blue Plaque placed on the building.
It was still vacant and abandoned in the summer of 2021”*
And that is it, although I may go back and visit some of the cinemas from 1929
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| The Wellington Picture House, 2021 |
Location; Stockport
Pictures; list of Stockport cinemas, 1929 from the Kinematograph Year Book 1929, and the Wellington Picture House, Stockport, 2021, from the collection of Andy Robertson
* cinema Treasures, http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/36714
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