Gaumont Cinema, Brook Street, Chester. November 1949.
Chester, CH1 3DY
Original owners: Provincial Cinematograph Theatres (PCT), Gaumont-British Picture Corporation, Ltd.
Architect: William T. Benslyn, F.R.I.B.A. A.R.C.A., of Birmingham.
Building contractor: Mc Laughlin and Harvey of Highbury.
Steelwork: A. D. Dawney of Battersea.
Fibre and solid plasterwork, painting/decoration: Crotch, Birkdale.
Total seating capacity- 1,910. (circle 723 seats * stalls 1187 seats).
Date Opened – Monday 2nd March 1931.
Opened by: The Mayor of Chester, Councillor John Morris.
First film shown: ‘On Approval’ starring Tom Walls & Yvonne Arnaud.
John Compton 3Manual/8Rank organ. Played at the opening by: Leslie James.
First General Manager: Fred Rowley.
First chief projectionist: Bertram Egginton.
Date Closed – as a cinema, Saturday 9th December 1961.
Final film shown: ‘The Marriage-Go-Round’ starring Susan Hayward & James Mason.
Last General Manager: Mr. A. E. Hopwood.
Internally restructured, firstly to accommodate ten pin bowling- 1962. Bingo hall- 1970.
Building closed: Sunday 26th February 2023.
The entrance section & façade on Brookdale Place, formerly known as Brook Street- extant.
Demolition of the main structure/auditorium began during mid May 2026 and continued through the summer months. Contractors: Total Controlled Demolition Services Limited of Staylybridge, Greater Manchester.
The all British cast of the 1930 ON APPROVAL which was the first film screened
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Welcome to the GAUMONT PALACE THEATRE, Chester.
The three powerful Ostrer brothers, the men behind the success story of Gaumont.
Isidore Ostrer
Mark Ostrer
Maurice Ostrer
In 1922 the Ostrer brothers gained Léon Gaumont’s holding in the original Gaumont Company. His surname was later adopted as re-branding on most of their acquisitions of cinema circuits and new build cinemas/theatres.
Léon Gaumont pictured in 1928.
“The Wonder Cinema. A magnificent hall”.
Under construction. The foyer of the Gaumont Palace, looking towards the entrance doors with the Tudor fireplace on the left.
This massive steel framed building was designed by Birmingham architect, William T Benslyn, F.R.I.B.A., A.R.C.A., and built by Mc Laughlin and Harvey of Highbury who contracted out to many local Chester tradesmen.
Architect, William T. Benslyn, F.R.I.B.A., A.R.C.A.
The cinema was to be part of the Provincial Cinematograph Theatres circuit who intended that it should be named “The Regent”. However, the company was taken over by Gaumont British and the cinema was re-branded to The Gaumont Palace before opening. For many locals, a palace it was, providing escapism from the troubled times of the early 1930s.
The first of Chester’s three ‘super cinemas’, the Gaumont Palace, Brook Street, Chester, was scheduled to open in December 1930. However, delays set in, together with an opposition application made by the Royalty Theatre to Chester’s Watch Committee to the granting of a cinema and theatre licence. This piece of mischief resulted in a restrictive licence being issued. The Watch Committee agreed to review in favour of granting a full licence being granted once the business was up and running.
The Gaumont Palace opened on 2nd March 1931. Attending the first audience were the architect, William T. Benslyn, F.R.I.B.A., A.R.C.A., and the Sheriff of Chester, Robert Mathewson, who would later open Chester’s ABC Regal Cinema.
The opening film at the Gaumont Palace was “On Approval” starring Tom Walls. A Compton 3Manual/8Rank organ was installed, played in the opening week by Leslie James.
Leslie James – The first organist
This was a magnificent cinema/theatre to visit.
The main stepped entrance on Brook Street, led into a waiting or holding foyer that was 92′ long and 22′ wide that was intended to keep the queuing well shod circle and rear stalls patrons out of the elements, whilst the unfortunate front stalls patrons had to enter via the side of the cinema which had no protection canopy. Above this holding foyer was a large restaurant /café that catered for 150 diners. A service staircase led to the kitchen area.
The 150 seat Gaumont Oak Restaurant.
Advertising was kept to just display frames fit under the overhanging canopy. The mock Tudor façade was a nod to the frontage of the nearby Majestic cinema that was owned by the same company, keeping the council happy.
Gaumont Palace, Chester. Proscenium.
The full working and equipped stage measured an impressive 65′ x 30′, enabling far more ambitious productions than the ABC stage could ever cope with in future years. Top billing stars appeared in person on a regular basis. It boasted nine dressing rooms.
At the time of opening the balcony, seating 800 was probably the largest in Northern England. The fan-shaped auditorium’s ceiling was decorated in orange, relieved by green, mauve and red embossed plasterwork.
Illumination was by a double tier lighting dome feature. The upper line of light was circular and the lower hexagonal. In the centre was a diamond shaped decorative grille pierced for air extraction. Coves housed most of the auditorium lighting.
There was also good news for those on a budget, with the ‘cheap seats’ in the stalls said to offer an equally comfortable experience as the more costly balcony seats.
A 1931 Gaumont Eclipse projector. This is the type that was installed at the Gaumont Palace Chester, when it opened.
The projection box was equipped with 3 Gaumont Eclipse projectors that had integral turntables for the sound on disc system, which were not used as sound on film by then was the standard adopted. These machines were later replaced by Gaumont Kalee 21 projectors. Spotlights (limes), plus a slide lantern completed the complement of equipment.
After five years the name was shortened to Gaumont.
For patrons old enough to remember queuing over Cow Lane bridge, sometimes in a vain attempt to get in.
Gaumont Chester’s projection room
Rumours that there had been a major mistake at Rank’s head office, and that the Gaumont was closed in error, instead of the Odeon. These rumours were unsupported and a complete nonsense as intricate plans would have been drawn up well in advance and board approval for such a move would have to be approved in fine detail. In many local’s opinion the Gaumont was sacrificed to try out a new craze of bowling, which quickly fizzled out.
The Odeon was situated on a prime site, much better placed for cinema business at that particular time. As a Top Rank Club, the bingo operation was transferred from the Majestic Cinema site, both sites owned by the Rank Organisation. The business there was extremely buoyant until the large council run car park across the street was replaced by a bus terminal. A developing trend of online bingo playing also severely impacted bingo attendances in general and in particular at Chester, with a rapid decline in players. With just the ground floor used, the business was a mere shadow of what it used to be. As a Mecca bingo hall it was operated by the once mighty Rank Group. It closed on Sunday, 26th February 2023. The premises lay shuttered for three years. With the building closed, the massive exterior visible to passers-by was a reminder to many of a the opulent and much-loved ‘super cinema’ that was worthy of the name The Gaumont Palace.
The main structure of the building was demolished during May and through the summer months of 2026. Chester’s largest hotel is planned to be built on the site with the mock Tudor façade, entrance and original restaurant area retained and incorporated into the design.
We are indebted to Paul Crofts, who during a visit to the building shortly before it was demolished, captured the side entrance of the Gaumont building. A reminder of the fine detail that architect, William T. Benslyn, afforded to this once magnificent building.
The stalls side entrance. c. 2025
PLANS to transform Chester’s former Mecca Bingo Hall adjacent to St Oswald’s Way into a 142-bedroom hotel have been formally submitted. Hotel Chester will boast standard and deluxe rooms over seven storeys and run by a world-leading hotel operator. A total of 748 square metres of serviced office space will accompany the hotel within a retained part of the development fronting Brookdale Place. Developer TAG plans to retain the iconic mock-Tudor frontage and demolish the rear of the building, which will be replaced with an exciting new piece of architecture that reflects the city’s history.
8th July 2024- The green light has been given despite objections. Most of the building will be demolished to make way for the seven-storey ‘Hotel Chester’ development adjacent to St Oswald’s Way, which will create 80 full-time jobs once it’s operational.
It is confirmed that the new hotel will also include a serviced office space within the iconic mock-Tudor frontage on Brookdale Place. Developer TAG is behind the project which will generate more than 100 construction roles during the build.
Demolition of the main structure/auditorium began during mid May 2026 and continued through the summer months. Contractors: Total Controlled Demolition Services Limited of Staylybridge, Greater Manchester.
chestercinemas.co.uk
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From Chester Chronicle February 28th 1931.
On Monday (2nd March 1931) the mayor (Mr John Morris), accompanied by several prominent people will officially open Chester’s wonder cinema the Gaumont Palace. It is a cinema beautifully designed to accommodate 2,000 people; the comfort of the patron has been considered all along the line, and this week-end the final touches will be applied to what is a magnificent hall.
Fred Rowley The Gaumont’s first manager
The new General Manager, Fred Rowley, invited a “Chronicle” reporter to have a “look round” on Thursday, and he was amazed that the site could have been transformed into a hall of such splendour. The architects and builders have worked splendidly , and now Chester has the most modern and best equipped theatre on the North of England.
The cinema contains plush seating, and in no corner of the hall is it difficult to obtain a comfortable view of the stage. Even those sitting in the cheaper seats – the nearest to the screen – will, from a point of view of comfort, be equal to those people in the gallery. The front seats are set well back from the stage so that there will be no need for craning of necks. This is a decided advantage. The floors are heavily carpeted,and on Thursday Messrs, Richard Jones’s workmen, superintended by Mr. Norman Jones, were busily engaged in laying yards and yards of carpet. The furnishing is as luxurious as that of any hotel. The café is oak panelled and affords plenty of room.
An attraction is the organ that has been installed at a cost of £10,000. When I went there I found the organ is in an elevated position, obscuring a full view of the screen. I made enquiries, and found that it works on a lift effect, and that by merely touching a switch the organist can raise or lower himself and the organ. Nothing that should have been done hand been left undone; the ceilings are tastefully coloured; the curtains and carpets are in tone with the rest of the decorations, and it all combines to make the hall what it’s title implies. It is impossible to exaggerate the grandeur, as people will see when it is opened by the Mayor on Monday.
DAVID A ELLIS chestercinemas.co.uk
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THE FIRST PROJECTION TEAM AT THE GAUMOUNT PALACE.
The original projectionists at the Gaumont Palace. Photographed on the roof by the projection room. Ron Arkinstall is on the far left, Gordon Dixon is seated.
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Gaumont Chester menu 1958
Preparing for the CMA Presentation Dinner in the circle lounge at the Gaumont Chester 1958.
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When I was young (16), I started work as an apprentice at Blaggs next to the Gaumont cinema in 1956. The building was owned by the cinema and had no toilet so we had to use the toilets in the cinema. In those days the Gaumont had a really good dining room upstairs which was open every day, I remember having some good lunches there.
The projection room had two Gaumont Kaylee projectors. Some very good stage shows were put on, I remember seeing Charlie Chester in “Zip goes a Million ” and seeing Lonnie Donegan. In it’s hey day it was a brilliant theatre.
When it was converted into a bowling alley I was appalled to witness the organ console dragged into the foyer and badly damaged, I’m not sure if it was rescued or just dumped but seeing how damaged it was I would be surprised if it would ever be used again. The building was converted by building another structure inside the old. The main ceiling and stage were kept but I expect all this has long since gone.
Allan Taylor
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If you enjoyed going to the Gaumont, or worked there at anytime,then chestercinemas.co.uk will be pleased to hear from you to share your thoughts.