Page 14 - HB- Church Road

Redditch Heritage Church Road

The following letter from Colin Wheeler describes entertainment in the Public Hall in the early
twentieth century.

From the Letters page in the Redditch Advertiser, 20 February, 2002
The Public Hall had extensive alterations, including improved heating and 600 plush lift-up
seats, before it became a Bosco’s Picture House in 1913.¹⁴ During the First World War
entertainment continued as shown in the advertisement on the following page. Note that there
were special performances for children on Saturday mornings at a reduced price. The second
advertisement announced that the building has been thoroughly disinfected.
Bosco’s Picture House was taken over by the Denman/Gaumont British Theatres chain in March
1928 and closed in 1931. The building was gutted and the facade rebuilt, according to the plans
of the architect, William Benslyn, who had designed other cinemas for the company. The new
facade had a modern Art Deco style decoration over the narrow entrance, with new brickwork
along the street side of the building. Inside the auditorium all 1,400 seats were on a single floor.
The Art Deco style decorations on the splay walls and side walls had four decorative vases (one
above the other) each being illuminated from within. There was a central long recess in the ceiling
which had cove lighting, and also contained two pendant light fittings. The Gaumont Palace opened
in November 1931 and was renamed the Gaumont in 1937. In 1954 there was a new large screen
in the newly refurbished Gaumont. It later became part of the Rank Organisation, but the cinema
was sold to the Classic Cinemas chain in December 1967. It was renamed the Classic Cinema,
but it was closed in July 1968. In the same month it was re­opened as a Bingo and Social Club.¹⁵

Page: 14