Building record MDO47627 - Odeon Cinema, 35-43 Westover Road, Bournemouth

The Odeon Cinema was built in 1929 to the designs of W E Trent and Seal & Hardy for the Provincial Cinematograph Theatres; mid- to late-C20 and early-C21 alterations. It is constructed of a steel frame clad in brick, with a white terracotta and brick front, and dressings of terracotta. The roof is clad with pantiles and corrugated sheeting. The original roof was partly covered in copper and had a saucer dome with a central circular lantern over the auditorium. A rectangular building with pedestrian passageways to either side between Westover and Hinton Roads. It originally comprised a double-height, fan-shaped auditorium with a large circle and a stage, a large rectangular foyer and staircases, and a café and an inner foyer or crush hall to the first floor. The symmetrical three-storey entrance front is in a Renaissance style with some Moderne elements. This building was assessed for listing in 2013, but failed to meet the required criteria.

Summary of Building

Cinema. Built 1929 to the designs of W E Trent and Seal & Hardy for the Provincial Cinematograph Theatres; mid- to late-C20 and early-C21 alterations.

Reasons for currently not Listing the Building

The Odeon Cinema, Westover Road, Bournemouth, built in 1929 to the designs of W E Trent, is not listed for the following principal reasons:

Intactness: although a building by one of the leading inter-war cinema architects, the interior bears very little resemblance to its original form: the plan and principal spaces have been radically altered and the auditorium has been compromised by the insertion of extra cinema screens;

Decoration: despite the survival of some of the original decorative plasterwork in the auditorium, overall there is not enough known to survive for the building to be listable in terms of its decorative scheme;

Historic interest: although it is of interest for retaining a Cinerama auditorium of 1968-9 this is not of sufficient interest in its own to outweigh the alterations that the building has undergone.

History

Opened in 1929 as The Regent, this cinema was initially planned under the auspices of the Provincial Cinematograph Theatres Ltd. (PCT), although by the time it opened the company had been taken over by the giant Gaumont British company. PCT had been founded in 1909 with the aim of providing a diverse chain of cinemas around Britain and were an unusually early example of a chain with national aspirations. The company's cinemas had luxuriously appointed interiors, central locations, and ran continuous performances. In 1925 William Edward Trent (1874-1948) was appointed their chief architect, a position he retained under Gaumont, and he subsequently became one of the leading cinema designers in Britain. Trent and local architectural practice, Seal & Hardy, were jointly responsible for designing The Regent in Westover Road. Their original plans for the frontage, dated 1928, included a substantial five-light first-floor window flanked by pairs of round-arched windows, but this design was amended to the arcaded loggia that exists today.

The cinema was located opposite The Pavilion Theatre of 1928-9 (listed at Grade II). When built, The Regent comprised a 2,300 seat auditorium with stalls and a balcony accessed from foyers at ground and first-floor level, a first-floor café which could seat 300 diners, a balcony crush hall, and full-stage facilities. The auditorium was decorated in a Renaissance style with painted panels, the work of artist Frank Barnes, to the side walls; there were similar painted scenes in the cafe. The cinema was renamed Gaumont in 1949, and in 1954 the proscenium was modified and CinemaScope was installed. The cinema closed in 1968 for extensive refurbishment and twinning (conversion to two screens); the auditorium was ceiled over to create separate screens in the former stalls and circle respectively, the latter being re-designed as an auditorium for Cinerama with a large, 70ft curved screen. It was one of only sixteen venues in the country to receive Cinerama technology. Much of the interior was remodelled at the same time, including the entrance; the area formerly occupied by the café which was converted to the Terrace Bar; and the copper-clad saucer-domed roof was removed and replaced with a new roof. The cinema re-opened the following year as Gaumont 1 & 2. It was one of the last of the Gaumont Theatres to be re-branded Odeon, occurring in 1986 when the Rank Organisation were standardising the names of all their cinemas. In 1989 the former stalls were divided into four smaller auditoria. A number of other alterations have been carried out in the late C20 and early C21 including the reconfiguration of the entrance foyer and the conversion of most of the former first-floor café to an additional screen.

Details

Cinema. Built 1929 to the designs of W E Trent and Seal & Hardy for the Provincial Cinematograph Theatres; mid- to late-C20 and early-C21 alterations.

MATERIALS: constructed of a steel frame clad in brick, with a white terracotta and brick front, and dressings of terracotta. The roof is clad with pantiles and corrugated sheeting. The original roof was partly covered in copper and had a saucer dome with a central circular lantern over the auditorium.

PLAN: a rectangular building with pedestrian passageways to either side between Westover and Hinton Roads. It originally comprised a double-height, fan-shaped auditorium with a large circle and a stage, a large rectangular foyer and staircases, and a café and an inner foyer or crush hall to the first floor. To either side of the entrance was a shop. The building was converted to two cinemas, set one above the other, in 1968-69. Further sub-division of the ground floor into smaller auditoria, and the conversion of the café into a lobby area and a screen were carried out in the late C20.

EXTERIOR: symmetrical three-storey entrance front in a Renaissance style with some Moderne elements. It consists of a seven-window range with a hipped pantile roof to the front section, and narrow outer bays that are set back. The main entrance (now the exit) is centrally positioned and recessed, and approached by a short flight of steps, probably Travertine. Its walls are clad with buff-coloured vertical tiles and there are four (originally five) pairs of late-C20 glass double doors; over the entrance is a cantilevered canopy of 1968 extending along the width of the building. To either side are further sets of late-C20 double doors, the four to the right serve as the present entrance, but here there was originally only a single doorway to a former shop; while to the left is a modern doorway and shop front to a café/ice cream parlour. The first floor is articulated by an arcaded loggia of round-headed arches carried on flat columns with streamlined stiff leaf capitals. Strip pilasters are applied to the front of each column and have matching carved capitals. There is a wrought-iron balustrade with decorative scrollwork to the balcony. The loggia ceiling has rectangular panels of applied plasterwork and there are seven arched openings of late-C20 paired doors below two-light windows behind which was the former café (now a first-floor lobby area and a screen). Above is a moulded band, circular motifs in relief to the frieze above, and a dentil cornice which continues across the flanking outer bays. The second floor has a central tripartite window with three sash windows to either side; all with flat-headed surrounds and keystones of terracotta, and a moulded eaves cornice extending the width of the building. Each of the narrower, outer bays has a flat-arched opening with late-C20 double doors with 'EXIT' in gold lettering in relief to the ground floor, and at first floor a blind panel (for posters) in a classical architrave with hood mould. To the upper floor, above the cornice, is a recessed elliptical window with a projecting keystone and above the cornice is a plain parapet. To either side of the building is a flanking brick wall with concrete detailing containing a flat-arched entrance to the passageway that provides access to Hinton Road at the rear of the building. There are flights of steps with metal railings and hand rails to the Hinton Road (north) ends of the passages. The Renaissance-style detailing of the façade is carried through to the rear elevation. The lower part is clad in white terracotta; it has a central entrance with moulded surround and a pair of wooden panelled doors, and a rectangular 'poster' panel set in a terracotta frame to either side. The upper part is brick with round-headed arcaded mouldings, corner pilasters and a dentil cornice, all in terracotta. The rear flanking walls also have matching terracotta detailing. Each has a flat-arched opening with modern double doors and 'EXIT' in relief to the architrave; to each outer bay is a round-arched opening with a pair of iron gates and a large Moderne-style keystone; and above are two elliptical windows with metal frames and moulded architrave. The right-hand wall has an additional flat-arched opening above the archway and a large ventilation grille to the left. Both walls are surmounted by pairs of composite urns (one to the left missing). The side elevations of brick are simpler and have been reinforced in the late C20/early C21. The openings here are plainer, with concrete sills and lintels, and most have been blocked; although the west elevation retains a pair of original panelled wooden doors.

INTERIOR: the foyer has undergone alteration with the loss of the original staircases: a broad marble one that led to the entrance to the stalls and to the two staircases to the first floor. Access to the ground-floor screens is now via a ramped passageway, while a single late-C20 staircase which is sited forwards of the original staircases leads to the first floor. The foyer floor was originally laid with black and white marble, there was a dado of Algerian onyx, and the ceiling was richly decorated. The finishes are now entirely modern with a suspended ceiling. The auditorium has a combined steel roof truss and side wall stanchion system which formed a deep cavity wall. The original ceiling, which was heavily moulded with coffered margins and a central coffered dome, was removed in 1968. The former circle which was re-designed for Cinerama in 1968-9 has a raised stepped floor and modern seating. It is not possible (2013) to determine whether the proscenium arch survives behind Screen 1. Beyond the left side of the screen part of the auditorium's original decorative plasterwork treatment to the side walls remains visible in the form of pilasters with embellished capitals carrying friezes decorated in a florid Baroque manner with urns, swags and garlands, and parts of a cornice. The painted scenes to the panels do not appear to survive. The part of the first floor which contained the café (the Terrace Bar after 1968) has been subdivided into Screen 6 and an open lobby area; the finishes and fittings to all these spaces are modern and there are suspended ceilings. The café originally had a barrel-vaulted and groined ceiling and was richly decorated. The original ground-floor stalls area has been subdivided to provide four screens. An illustration of c1929 indicates that the lower sections of the side walls appear to have been marked out in ashlar blockwork. Backstage areas include former dressing rooms and service areas; a small basement area beneath the stage contains plant rooms and equipment; while the upper floor at the front of the building, which originally had a self-contained flat and staff rooms, is now mostly used for storage and office accommodation.
(1)

<1> Historic England, UDS Non-Designation case report, Case 1417499, Decision Date: 09-Oct-2013 (Scheduling record). SDO18398.

<2> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1615368 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 28 2023 3:39PM