| |
|
York Cinemas now
available, price £14.50/£12.50 Members
Click on cover photofor a larger picture
YORK CINEMAS ALD Review
We have been sent another book by longtime ALD member, Mervyn Gould. This
time the reader is treated to a detailed tour of the places of entertainment
in York, past & present. Whilst the main thrust of the 216 pages is
the story of the many cinemas in the city, the part that theatre played
in
presenting films is certainly included. I was surprised how many of York’s
theatres were part time or pioneer picture houses and it is good to have
the troubled story of the Grand Opera House (ex Empire) brought up to
date. Another fascinating section contrasts and interprets the technical
specifications of the York Theatre Royal in 1946, as per the entry in
The Stage Guide and the 1971 edition, edited by Michael Holden. This shows
how incredibly far we have come since the ‘70s but even then the
basics of modem lighting were in place, in strong contrast to the 1946
edition, when the composition of the pit orchestra was more detailed than
the electrical installation! There is a very detailed Cinema and Theatre
Gazetteer and the index is comprehensive. Mervyn Gould has built with
his customary thoroughness on the initial research by Peter Wrenn, which
was published by Mercia in 1984, hence the twin ISBN numbers, presumably.
The volume is packed with photos of
interiors & exteriors and original plans and posters. The ALD member
who knows York or is interested in Cinema history is guaranteed a great
read, one from an ever-increasing booklist from the Mercia Cinema Society.
James Laws.
Focus - The Journal of the Association of Lighting Designers
October/November 2006
CTA REVIEW: York Cinemas by Mervyn Gould
This well-produced book is a very thorough and detailed
work. Starting with the earliest film shows in the City’s music
halls, it covers the development of film exhibition in York right up to
the present day, including the Vue multiplex and the City Screen. It is
full of facts (with sources cited), anecdotes, and quotations about the
buildings used and the people who owned and worked in them. Almost every
page is illustrated with photographs of the cinema interiors and exteriors,
the managers and staff, architect’s plans, projection equipment,
programmes, and press advertisements.
You will find out, for example, what the X stood for as the middle name
of entrepreneur John X. Prendergast, which famous composer was related
to him and which former cinema hosted The Beatles on stage. There are
extensive descriptions of the super (and the not-so-super) cinemas and
details of all the transformations and rebuilds they had, including sub-division.
A chapter entitled The Reels Stop Spinning covers the conversion to bingo
halls and shops and, in some cases, demolition.
There are chapters covering the War Years and the advent
of television and bingo and their impact on cinemas. The former is particularly
interesting and provides an insight into the difficulties endured in that
era for those who never experienced it, and a source of nostalgia for
those who did. The latter covers the means the cinemas used to fight back,
including Cinema-Scope, stereophonic sound, 3-D and a return of variety
acts, almost the opposite of how things started!
It is well written, and it comes over that the author has spent much time
in the business, and done a great deal of conscientious research into
the subject. There are several lengthy quotations from key people, and
also references to cinemas and developments in other towns; these are
entirely relevant and provide explanations for certain points. A comprehensive
gazetteer gives a potted history of all the venues referred to, including
technical specifications and a list of organs. There is also a useful
index. There are a couple of typos, occasional repetition, and a wrong
cross-reference, but these do not detract from the usefulness of the book.
A good read – and a reference book you will want to keep coming
back to thereafter.
Harry Rigby, Editor, CTA Bulletin in Mercia Bioscope November 2006
New from Mercia Publishing is this comprehensive history
of cine¬mas in York. The story takes us right from the early days
of film shows in theatres and music halls, through the era of the early
pic¬ture palaces, to the super-cinemas’ of the 30s such as the
Odeon and Regal; then on through to the multiplex era and the opening
of the popular City Screen. There are many fascinating items along the
way, including long extracts from the memories of Robert Bullivant, principal
designer of the Odeon. This reviewer was also fascinated to learn that
the film music composer, John Barry, first appeared in public, with his
skiffle group on stage at the Rialto. This book is crammed full of such
interesting snippets and much more besides - well recommended!
Jeremy Buck CTA Bulletin September/October 2006.
The following review appeared in issue 115 of Rewind,
the Projected Picture Trust magazine Autumn 2006
Cinemas of York, by cinema and
theatre historian Mervyn Gould, and published by Mercia Cinema Society,
is an extensively researched 226-page amply illustrated history, which
goes back a hundred years, when York audiences had their first opportunity
to see animated pictures on 19 December 1896 at the Theatre Royal. It
brings the story right up-to-date with the opening of the City Screen
in 2000 and the imminent closure of the Odeon.
It tells of the first permanent home for films in York in a converted
Methodist chapel, which opened as the New Street Hall in 1908. It tells
how a former skating rink became the City Picture Palace in 1914. It tells
of York’s first purpose-built cinema, the Electric of 1911, and
of its super cinemas such as the 1934 Regent, the re-built Rialto of 1935
and the 1937 Regal.
It details the cinemas’ projection equipment and provides some insight
into their programmes.
The book sets the history of the cinemas in a wider context of cultural
change and the impact of two world wars. It builds on earlier research
undertaken by Peter Wrenn in the early 1990s when he was a student at
the Institute of Advanced Architectural Studies.
An appendix provides details of all the cinema organs. The book is fully
Indexed.
Mervyn Gould is author of Loughborough Stage and Screen (1994), and Boston
and Spalding Cinemas and the Aspland Howdens (2005).
Cinemas of York, ISBN 0-946406-58-8, is available from bookshops or directly
from Mercia Sales, 100 Wlckfield Road4 Hackenthorpe, Sheffield, S12 4TT.
Cheques for £14 50 should be made payable to Mercia Cinema Society.
-oOo-
PRESS RELEASE
New book traces history of York picture houses
What do a furnishing store in Fossgate, a car park in
Clarence Street, and Fairfax House in Castlegate, York, have in common?
They are all associated with former picture houses.
Their past is recalled in a new book by cinema and theatre
historian Mervyn Gould which provides a detailed account of the Electric,
the Grand, and the St George’s Cinema, as well as the other eighteen
venues where moving pictures were shown in the past or are still screened
today.
Cinemas of York, published by Mercia Cinema Society,
is an extensively researched 226-page amply illustrated history which
goes back just a hundred years when York audiences had their first opportunity
to see animated pictures on 19 December 1896 at the Theatre Royal. It
traces the rise and fall of picture houses between 1908 and the present
day, bringing the story right up-to-date with the opening of the City
Screen in 2000 and the imminent closure of the Odeon.
Mr Gould’s book tells of the first permanent home
for films in York in a converted Methodist Chapel, which opened as the
New Street Hall in 1908 and was later renamed the Palace of Varieties
and subsequently the Hippodrome.
It tells how a former skating rink became the City Picture Palace in 1914
and was later known as the Casino and the Rialto. It tells of York’s
first purpose-built cinema, the Electric of 1911, and of its super cinemas
such as the 1934 Regent, the re-built Rialto of 1935 and the 1937 Regal.
It details the cinemas’ projection equipment and
provides some insight into their programmes.
The book sets the history of the cinemas in a wider context
of cultural change and the impact of two world wars. A social and ethical
issue covered in the book was the question of the opening of cinemas on
Sundays. Following the Second World War, when picture houses were opened
to maintain public morale and provide clean entertainment for troops stationed
in their vicinity, the Government gave local authorities powers to keep
the cinemas open, or to close them, according to the wishes of their electorate.
The Church and Non-conformist chapels strongly opposed Sunday opening
(although the Roman Catholics remained aloof from the canvassing). At
a public meeting in York in 1947 the religious bodies secured 478 votes
to the ‘Sunday opening’ supporters vote of 320. However a
subsequent poll reversed the weight of opinion with 10,377 votes in favour
of Sunday opening and only 5,929 against it.
A prominent figure in the book is Jack Xavier Prendergast
who masterminded the building of the new Rialto, and of the Clifton Cinema
in 1939 using a local architect, Frederick Dyer on both occasions, and
who played an active part in the wider York entertainment scene. Prendergast
was a large man, literally as well as metaphorically. He did not find
the standard cinema seating comfortable so he designed his own and had
it manufactured by a Scarborough firm. Originally named The Prendergast,
the seat was later advertised – having been installed there - as
The Rialto.
The book builds on earlier research undertaken by Peter
Wrenn in the early 1990s when he was a student at the Institute of Advanced
Architectural Studies.
Among the 241 illustrations are recent photographs taken
by Ian Houseman, whose parents live in York. There is also the most extensive
range of photographs of the Odeon ever to be published and provided for
the book by courtesy of the Harry Weedon partnership. (Robert Bullivant,
architect of the York Odeon, was by then on Harry Weedon’s staff
and was later to become the senior partner in the practice.)
An appendix provides details of all the cinema organs
which were installed in York picture houses. The book is fully indexed.
IAN HOUSEMAN has Yorkshire roots. His father is a native
of York, his mother grew up there, and they married at Acomb Parish Church
sixty years ago. After many years away from the county, they returned
to York to live in
2003. Ian was born in Sheffield, but was moved away at an early age. After
early days in electronics and pub management, he is now a non-destructive
tester, mainly in the aeronautic field. His love of photography has been
nurtured over the years, with many hours spent in darkroom processing,
before the advent of digital cameras and scanners. The interplay of light
and shadow brought him to architectural photography. He has worked before
with Mervyn Gould on Loughborough’s Stage & Screen (1994) and
Boston and Spalding & the Aspland Howdens (2005).
MERVYN GOULD worked in independent cinema and commercial
touring theatre, before becoming a university technical tutor. Academically
an historian, he has a Master’s degree in Arts Administration, and
with a keen interest in architecture from an early age, combines these
with research into entertainment buildings and the companies behind them.
Future projects include the life of Richard Thornton (Edward Moss’
original partner in what became Moss’ Empires) for a Ph.D., and
the cinema histories of Burton-on-Trent, Crewe & Nantwich, and St.
Albans. Wearing another hat, he is the administrator of the Mercia Cinema
Society. Mervyn Gould is the author of Loughborough Stage and Screen (1994),
and Boston and Spalding Cinemas and the Aspland Howdens (2005).
Mercia Cinema Society is the country’s leading
publisher of books in the history of cinemas. The Society, which is a
registered charity, was founded in 1980 to foster research into picture-houses
and their proprietors.
Cinemas of York, ISBN 0-946406-58-8, is available from
bookshops or directly from the Society, c/o Stuart Smith, 100 Wickfield
Road, Hackenthorpe, Sheffield, S12 4TT. Cheques for £14 50p (or
£12.50 with membership number) should be made payable to Mercia
Cinema Society.
ENDS
(Further details will appear here when available)
|
