The lost cinemas of Stretford, ...... the Picturedrome

Now this is the Stretford cinema that I bet most people have forgotten.

That said I am prepared for a deluge of comments from those who have fond memories of seeing films there, and going on that all important first date.

It is the Picturedrome on King Street by the Post Office.

It was opened in 1911 and over its half century was owned by a variety of cinema chains, including the Northern Combines in the 1920s, the Lancashire chain of Jackson & Newport in the late 1930s, and Essoldo Theatres in 1950.*

Despite its white terracotta facade and ornate upper storey, I doubt that it cut a sway with cinema goers once the new Longford Cinema just across the road opened in 1936.

This picture house with its striking entrance on Chester Road was something new.  It had soundproofing, under seat heating and air conditioning.

“The foyer was floored in Venetian Marble. 

The Auditorium was decorated in tangerine and silver-blue art-deco designs. 

The room also contained a stage, which could be used for theatrical performances by various groups including the Streford Amateur Operatic Society.

The building was the first in Britain to be illuminated by neon tube lighting. 

The arrangement of the business was that the Longford would be used as a Cinema for three weeks of the month and as a theatre for the fourth week. Cinema attendants were forbidden from accepting gratuities. 

The stalls sat 1400, the balcony sat 600 and the café sat 146.”**

It was built by the same company which already owned our Picturedrome, and I realize I have wandered away from that more modest cinema and so I shall return to the picture.

I think we may be sometime in the late 1920s.  The film currently showing was Lady of the Night which came out in 1925 and featured the story of two women both played by Norma Shearer.

They came from different social classes but their paths cross when they both fall for the same man.

In the course of the film both are transformed into more caring responsible individuals and as you would expect there is more than a dash of sentimentality and drama. ***

I rather think we might just be able to refine the date by following up on the career of Tom F Moss who “was a tenor and pioneer of cine-variety, who had been billed as ‘The Caruso of the Halls,’ a description he pinched from an earlier performer, Harry Fragson, conveniently murdered in 1913.”

His career ran from the 1920s through to 1951 and has been documented by Stephen Dixon. ****

So we may get a little further along finding out more on the Picturedrome and I bet there will be people out there who remember it.

After all it only went in 1961 and that opens up a shed full of possible memories.

Lawrence remembers going there but it wasn't his favourite place.

"It was full of some pretty rough sorts so we preferred the Essoldo"

And then as an after thought remembered that Paul Robeson had sung at the Essoldo which of course drew me and set the scene for a whole new story

Pictures; the Picturedrome, Stretford, circa 1925, JBS, and the Essoldo in 1961, m09199, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass
* Picturedrome, Stretford, Cinema treasures, http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/42393
** Longford and Essoldo Cinema Stretford, http://longfordcinema.co.uk/history/
***Lady of the Night Plot Summary, IMBd, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0016005/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl
****Brinsworth House, Stephen Dixon, http://voices-of-variety.com/brinsworth-house/

Memories of a Stretford Rose Queen in 1928 by Karen J Mossman

Now one of the really nice things about writing the blog is when I can get guest contributors to write about their lives and memories.

So here  is an article by Karen who has kindly written about Molly and the Stretford Rose Queen.

In December 2013, Molly will be 99 years old and in 1928 she was Stretford’s Rose Queen.

I wanted to find out what she remembered about that time.

“We were told at school the Rose Queen was going to be chosen from Old Trafford that year. 

Previously they had been chosen from Stretford and Gorse Hill.

 I was 13 and Dad was very strict and wouldn’t let me go, so I asked Mum. 

She said I could, if I was a good girl. So I washed the pots everyday and she told me to be back before 9.00 and then Dad would never know.”

Molly’s dad was a traveller selling office stationery. He travelled to the far sides of Manchester so didn’t keep regular hours.

The judging took place at Stretford Technical College on the corner of Stretford Road and East Union Street.

The girl’s paraded the ballroom and the winners were chosen by the committee.

The Rose Queen was selected first, followed by the Ladies in Waiting, Maids of Honour and three girls to represent Faith, Hope and Charity.

A friend of Molly’s mum’s had taught her deportment and it had paid off.

It wasn’t possible to rush off afterwards and when she did she called in at her grandparent’s house on St Hilda’s Road. She didn’t have time to stop and Molly laughs as she recalled it.

I charged up to the front door shouting through the letter box: ‘I’m Queen! I’m Queen!’ But when I got home to Ayres Road, Dad was waiting for me and he was very angry.”

I asked about her dress and she said was satin-silk, “It was good quality and made especially for me. 
Unfortunately the day after, I realised I didn’t have anywhere to keep it, so I cut up the skirt and made knickers. I do regret it now. It was very silly. I wish my mother had stopped me.

The day itself was sunny and I was collected in a horse drawn landau with a coachman. 

Dad had a wooden arch at the gate of our house and sent off to Colchester for roses to decorate it with. I was told the landau had been used for a visit to Manchester by royalty.

We travelled up Chester Road to the cenotaph and the streets were lined with people who clapped as I approached. I felt regal, just like a real queen. 

We then went into Longford Park and the lawns were laid out with chairs and there was an orchestra who played music for my entrance. 

Uncle Herbert was music master at Central School in Gorse Hill and he wrote the music for me.”

Local bands also playing during the afternoon and there were various competitions including the judging of council horses as well as a fair.

“I was crowned by Councillor Sutcliffe’s wife and she gave me a necklace with a platinum setting which was bought in King Street, Manchester. 

I still have it in my jewellery box.

We then went for a meal inside Longford Hall and there was dancing in the evening followed by a firework display.”

Molly was the granddaughter of Councillor John Pedder, chairman of the Stretford Parks Committee. “

My family didn’t make a fuss of me because I was Rose Queen, and Dad didn’t even come. 

But on the day everyone treated me nicely. 

It was just a matter of luck I was chosen because I was just an ordinary girl.”

I’d have to disagree with that, Molly was picked because the committee saw how beautiful she was and how elegantly she walked.

© Karen J Mossman, November 2013

Pictures; from the collection of Karen J Mossman