When in Leigh ............. go looking for some history

So last week Andy Robertson was in Leigh and came across a little bit of history.

And as you do went looking for The Grand Theatre and Hippodrome, which he tells me began "life in 1908, converted to a cinema, then a club, and became a pub in 2007".  

Adding that "Many old cinemas/theatres have been now converted into pubs, usually Wetherspoons. I can think of loads like Moon under Water on Deansgate, Tim Bobbin in Urmston, Regal Moon in Rochdale, Eccles Cross in Eccles.

And here is 'The Thomas Burke' on Leigh Road. Thomas was a local lad and became an operatic tenor".

 So I suppose it is fitting that the Grand should be reunited with its link to the world of live entertainment through the late Mr. Burke.

I notice from that website Theatres Trust it "contained a charming stained glass window, now plain glass" and that it closed in 1939 for a "radical modernisation which had little effect on the external appearance. The auditorium was remodelled in Art Deco style".

There is more but for that you will have to follow the link.

But I will say that according to the same site "The Hippodrome remains a major landmark in Leigh".

So there you are, trust Andy to find one of Leigh's tourist land marks.

Location; Leigh

Pictures; The Grand Theatre and Hippodrome, now 'The Thomas Burke' 2023, from the collection of Andy Robertson

*Theatres Trust. https://database.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/theatres/show/2235-grand-theatre-and-hippodrome