Empire (Stoke-on-Trent)

• Theatre ID
  1212
• Built / Converted
  1896
• Dates of use
  • 1896 - 1894
• Current state
  Fragmental remains
• Current use
  demolished (fragmental remains)
• Address
  Commerce Street/Chancery Lane, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST3, England

Details

The first theatre opened on 10 September 1888 on the site of an old manufactory, at a cost of £18,000. The exterior was plain, without ornament, and three stories high. The façe in Commerce Street was of red sandstone in free Renaissance style. Matcham's 1896 exterior was not much more demonstrative, but the auditorium was described by Christopher Brereton in 1982 as 'marvellous...one of the best and least-known examples of Frank Matcham's surviving works'. The gallery started behind and above the rear of the upper circle, in effect forming a separate tier. The balconies were built on the cantilever principle. A projection box was constructed at the rear of the gallery in 1921, and cine-variety was presented. It later became a cinema, and finally a bingo hall. On 31 December 1992 it was destroyed by fire. Part of the front of house remained but in gutted condition and is unlikely to survive redevelopment of the site. The loss of the Longton Empire a 'three-star sleeping beauty' was one of the most tragic of recent years.

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• Other names
  Queens, Empire, Longton Empire
• Events
  • 1896 - 1894 Use:
  • 1888 Design/Construction:
  • 1896 Alteration: reconstructed theatre after fire
    • Frank Matcham - Architect
  • 1921 - 0 Alteration: projection box built (architect unknown).
  • 1952 - 0 Alteration: refurbished (architect unknown).
  • 1960 - 0 Alteration: or 1966, converted to bingo (architect unknown).
  • 1888 Design/Construction:
    • Jackson & Sons (London) - Consultant: Proscenium Plaster
    • John Turner (stage carpenter of Leeds Grand) - Consultant: Stage And Traps
    • John Taylor - Architect
  • 1890 - 0 Alteration: structural alterations (architect unknown).
    • Smith & Co - Consultant: Decorations
    • Jackson & Sons - Consultant: Plaster Work
  • 1894 Design/Construction:
    • W T Hemsley - Consultant: Act Drop
  • 1888 - 0 Owner/Management: James Elphinstone Jr, lessee and manager; Longton & District Theatre Co Ltd, proprietors.
  • 1890 Owner/Management: Edmund Tearle, lessee and manager
  • 1894 Owner/Management: Longton & District Theatre Co Ltd, proprietor
  • 1896 Owner/Management: The New Longton Theatre Co Ltd, proprietors
  • 1907 - 1912 Owner/Management: The Longton Theatre Ltd, proprietor
  • 1918 Owner/Management: The Longton Theatre Ltd, proprietor
  • 1922 Owner/Management: W Hall, N Edwards, Harry Grice, owners
  • 1925 Owner/Management: bought by Derwent Circuit
  • 1931 Owner/Management: ABC
• Capacities
  • Original: 3000
  • Later: 1912: 2670 1957: 775
• Listings
  • Grade II
• Stage type
  • Rake
• Dimensions
  • Stage dimensions: Depth: 48ft Width: 64ft
  • Proscenium width: 31ft 6in
  • Height to grid: 60ft