Coliseum (Cheltenham)

• Theatre ID
  2212
• Built / Converted
  1913
• Current state
  Extant
• Current use
  converted to other use (sports bar; previously bingo and later a snooker club)
• Address
  18-20 Albion Street, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL52 2LP, England

Details

The building was opened in 1913 on the site of the old Conservative Club, retaining the façe of that building. It opened and operated as a theatre until 1931, when it was modernised for cinema, when the original arched design was replaced by a new square proscenium, a lounge bar, a new canopy and external neon lighting were also added. For a time, c.1922-31, when both the Opera House and Winter Gardens were engaged in full-time cinema, the Coliseum served as Cheltenham’s only theatre. Two-storey building with attic, façe plain, now rendered, with pitched roof, originally designed to carry flag-pole. Remainder of the building is brick. The balcony has now gone and little remains of any other original internal features. It was a bingo house for some time. Horizontal subdivision in recent years for dual operations has rendered any return to theatre use unlikely, but the town is well served by the Everyman (formerly Opera House). The stage house is thought to remain.

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• Other names
  Gillsmith's Hippodrome, n.d.: Theatre of Varieties
• Events
  • 1913 - 0 Design/Construction: theatre built retaining Georgian façade of the Conservative Club.
    • Herbert T Rainger - Architect
  • 1931 - 0 Alteration: modernised as cinema (architect unknown).
  • 1955 - 0 Alteration: cinemascope installed.
  • 1974 - 0 Alteration: stage removed and converted to bingo (architect unknown).
  • 1913 - 0 Owner/Management: Cecil Gillsmith (or Gill Smith)
  • 1919 - 0 Owner/Management: Henry George Beard
  • 1946 - 0 Owner/Management: Poole's
  • 1974 Owner/Management: Star
  • 1920 - 0 Alteration: reopened 12 January after refurbishment.
  • Design/Construction: Built as conservative club (Georgian - date and architect unknown).
• Capacities
  • Later: 1974: 880
  • Original: c.922
• Listings
  • Grade Not listed
• Stage type
  • Proscenium rake
• Dimensions
  • Stage dimensions: Depth: 40ft
  • Proscenium width: 30ft