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Gazetteer
lecture hall was opened on 23rd July 1891, and an annex
opened in 1896. Situated in Barnfield Road in the
Southernhay district, the building played host to talks lectures
and the like.
With the coming of film the lectures could be illustrated and
from 1906 films of an educational or travel nature were shown
here. However before WWII the building became a telephone
exchange and subsequently for civil defence until 1968.
Exeter Little Theatre Company obtained support from the City
Council to convert the building into a 300 seat theatre. The
cost was £50,000. The Barnfield Theatre was opened by the
Mayor of Exeter on 24th February 1972. The theatre does
not show films however the company put on many productions
and are visited by other productions throughout the year.
The exterior has some very nice murals.
www.barnfieldtheatre.co.uk
district was built as a Church Hall and opened by the Mayor
on 2nd October 1912. The building consisted of three halls,
two small halls of 250 seats each and a main hall 70' by 35'
and could seat 750.
Although used for all sorts of events, the building had been
designed with cinema in mind as sliding shutters could block
out daylight from the main hall for daytime film shows. The
building was converted into a full time cinema opening 17th
October 1921 and was run by King's Hall (Exeter) Ltd.
Talking Pictures system. The cinema closed in 1937 but reopened as a variety theatre in 1939 but
was then pressed into service as an aircraft factory for J Whipple & Co Ltd.
Later the building became a nightclub and is now the Riverside Christian Centre.
have been an exact copy of the Albert Hall in London but scaled down. The ring auditorium was 41'
across. In 1885 the building was converted for use also as a circus. Poole's Myriorama and other
travelling film shows regularly booked the Victoria Hall for upwards of a month at a time. In fact its very
first film show was in October 1896.
The building became a full time cinema as Victoria Hall Picture Palace run by West's Animated Pictures
from 1910 but burnt down in 1919.
theatre in Britain. On 5th September 1887 there was a full house for a performance of the play Romany
Rye. At approximately 10.00pm the curtain fell and someone shouted FIRE! As the audience pressed
for the exits a panic ensued and many were crushed. Others sustained terrible injuries jumping from
high up in the building trapped by the inferno. Fire engines from a wide area were summoned but it was
not until the bodies were removed from the theatre in the morning that the full extent of the disaster was
known. 186 died.
At the inquest the blame was put on poor design of the building and safety regulations for theatres in
general. The main outcome of the Governments review of Theatre safety following the Exeter fire was
the introduction of the safety curtain. The rebuilt Theatre Royal was the first theatre in the country to
install a safety curtain, weighing four and a half tons and capable of being lowered in 20 seconds.
The new Theatre Royal was opened in 1889 and the architect was Alfred Darbyshire. From 1901 film
shows formed part of the programme and regular shows were booked here by the City Palace. After a
campaign to save the Theatre Royal it closed and was demolished in 1962.
Laurence Chapel. The architect was Mr H E Farmer of Hickton & Farmer of Birmingham for
Bournemouth, Exeter & Plymouth Bioscope Theatres Ltd. The cinema was built on the site of the old
Guildhall Café and opened on 18th August 1910 with Danish Dragoons on Maneuvers. The screen
was at the entrance end and there was seating for around 250. Above the arched entrance was the
inscription "You know one half of the world, we show you the other". The walls were lined with
tapestries. In later years the cinema was run by Frank S Cochran as Exeter Cinematograph Co Ltd
and closed in August 1937. The building along with the chapel were destroyed by bombing in WWII.
1911. It was later listed as being run by C Holland. The cinema closed around 1924 and the whole
area where it was situated has subsequently been redeveloped.
Ltd from 1912 and after a new facade and internal alterations opened as City Palace with about 300
seats. The cinema was renamed Lounge at some time in the 1930s.
A dispute arose in 1913 as the theatre was using the alleyway between Fore Street and George Street
as an exit. Residents in the alley complained about strangers moving around after dark. An agreement
was made that the residents could shut a door at the end of the alley at night.
The cinema closed 19th December 1937 and was converted into a shop. The area was cleared after
bombing.
Queen's Hall ~ Palladium
building was situated at 93-94 Paris Street. Albany Ward purchased the building by 1914 to be run as
a cinema. The Palladium had exclusive rights to show Charlie Chaplin films in the city. In 1921 Albany
Ward modernised and altered the building which now seated 800 and called it Palladium. A fine iron
and glass canopy was installed as was the case on most Albany Ward Theatres.
In 1927 the cinema became part of Provincial Cinematograph Theatres in a deal where Albany Ward
remained in charge of his West Country properties. In 1930 RCA sound was installed. Although
effectively replaced by the Gaumont Palace in 1932 the Palladium continued to operate and was
advertised alongside the Gaumont until films ceased in 1940. The building was requisitioned for war
use and was said to have been destroyed by bombing in 1942. However damage was slight and the
building including its decorative auditorium balcony and stage became a shop after the war and was in
use into the 1950s when the building was cleared for redevelopment.
children outside the Palladium is
reproduced with the kind permission of
Mr K Saunders of Swindon. Note the
fine canopy, very typical of Albany
Ward cinemas.
building was leased by Fred Carno who enlarged, reseated and redecorated the building before
opening it as the Hippodrome on 2nd November 1908. The frontage was 44' wide and could seat 700,
with a balcony and gallery accommodating a further 380. The architect for the alterations was Kendall.
It is said that Charlie Chaplin performed here. Mainly run as a variety hall some film shows took place
here.
In 1931 the building was rebuilt as the Plaza cinema by architects Lucas & Langford of Exeter with 1000
seats. Opened 6th February 1931 with The King of Jazz and Sally. There was also a café in the
building. The cinema was destroyed by bombing in 1942.