Royal County Theatre

• Theatre ID
  767
• Built / Converted
  1897
• Dates of use
  • 1897 - 1940
• Current state
  Demolished
• Current use
  demolished
• Address
  Fife Road, Kingston upon Thames, London, KT1, England

Details

By the 1890s the Albany Hall in Fife Road had fallen into disuse, and there had been talk of converting it into a theatre. After negotiations with a London Syndicate had fallen through the hall was purchased by Mr Peter Davey, a leading member of the Genesta Amateur Dramatic Club, who also wrote pantomimes and plays, and who raised enough money to convert the hall into a theatre. On 15 Dec 1896, the Kingston-upon-Thames Theatre Company was formed, with Davey as Managing Director; the freehold was purchased for £18,000 and the conversion, which took nine months to complete, began. The Royal County Theatre was opened on 4 Oct 1897, and had stalls, circle and gallery accommodating 1300, with a stage separated from the stalls by a large orchestra pit, which was large enough to accommodate any production of that era, and lit with electricity. The theatre was well patronised, and for most of the year it presented dramas, musicals, farces, opera and occasionally variety. The theatre was famous for its pantomimes, written by Davey - they were so lavish and well-built that they were let out to other theatres. By 1905 many suburban theatres had been built, and the Royal County formed one of a circuit of twenty around London, however their decline increased with the advent of moving pictures. On 22 June 1912 the final performance was given, and although the building was owned by the Kingston-upon-Thames Theatre Co, which paid dividends to its shareholders, for the rest of its existence it was leased to others. In November 1912, the theatre opened briefly as a cinema with a newly-formed Company, Perfect Playhouses Ltd, but they went bankrupt. It then opened again in Dec 1915 as 'The New Revue Theatre' under Charles Stafford, lasting six months. On 29 Nov 1917 it reopened again as the Super Cinema, and twelve years later was the first Kingston cinema to install sound. In 1939 H & R Properties took it over and completely refurbished and modernised the theatre, renaming it the 'County', but fire gutted the building in 1940 (9 Feb) and the building stood empty until 1955 when the Times Furnishing Company was built on the site.

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• Other names
  The New Revue Theatre, Super Cinema, The County
• Events
  • 1896 - 1897 Owner/Management: Peter Davey
  • 1897 - 1940 Use:
  • 1897 Design/Construction: Albany Hall converted to theatre.
    • J C Bourne - Architect
  • 1897 Owner/Management: Kingston-upon-Thames Theatre Co (Peter Davey, managing director), owners
  • 1912 Owner/Management: Perfect Playhouses Ltd, lessees
  • 1912 Alteration: converted to cinema (architect unknown).
  • 1915 Owner/Management: Charles Stafford, lessee
  • 1916 Owner/Management: Sydney Bransgrove, lessee
  • 1917 Alteration: refurbished (architect unknown).
  • 1917 Owner/Management: unknown cinema co, lessees
  • 1939 Alteration: refurbished (architect unknown).
  • 1939 Owner/Management: H & R Properties, lessees
  • 1955 Owner/Management: Times Furnishing Company
  • 1955 Demolition:
• Capacities
  • Original: 1300
• Listings
  • Grade Not listed
• Dimensions
  • Stage dimensions: Width: 60ft
  • Proscenium width: 24ft x 22ft high
  • Orchestra pit: Original. 8 dressing rooms. Green room.