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Gazetteer
East Devon & Teignmouth Club ~ Riviera
has had a long and interesting history. Built by Lord
Courtenay in 1826 as Assembly and Reading Rooms the
architect was William Patey. In 1830 a gentleman's club was
established in the building called East Devon & Teignmouth
Club, who purchased the building in 1890.
In 1908 the building became a restaurant and in 1912 the 63'
long ballroom was leased to Charles Poole to show silent films
as the Riviera Cinema. This name has stuck ever since. By
the early 1920s the operation was run by C H Sayce.
In 1924 A W Prince purchased the building for £2500 and
retained the restaurant and cinema, while converting the
rest of the building into the Riviera Hotel. In 1933 the
interior of the building was reconstructed as a large purpose
built cinema with art deco features. The building possessed
a café for 80, a roof garden, a lift and 900 seats including 315
in the circle. There was a large stage with a 45' wide
proscenium and Western Electric sound. Mr Prince hoped
that this substantial investment would see off any major
circuits moving into the town, and he was right. The
architect for the rebuild is believed to be Howard Williams,
and the cost was £33,000. The cinema opened on 16th July
1934 with Jack Ahoy. The building was still owned by Mr
Prince who operated the cinema as Riviera Cinema
(Teignmouth) Ltd.
During the 1940's the cinema was run by Mayfair Cinemas
(Control) Ltd and by the 1950s by Cornell Cinemas
(Pontypridd) Ltd. It was at this time that a wide 37' by 20'
screen was installed. By the late 1960s the cinema was
struggling and had introduced part time bingo sessions.
Drastic action had to be taken to keep the cinema open.
In 1970 the circle was extended to seat 520 creating a
smaller cinema upstairs retaining some of the art deco
features including grilles and light fittings. The stalls area
was removed to be replaced with an amusement arcade,
which remains today. In 1976 the cinema was being leased
from Riviera Cinemas (Teignmouth) Ltd by Charles Scott until
1980. In 1980 stage facilities were added and a local operatic
group would sometimes put on live shows. A full theatre
licence was obtained in 1985.
In 1989 Charles Scott Cinemas was again running the
operation and under Peter Hoare continued to operate the
cinema until closure on 26th March 2000 with End of the
Affair. The reason for closure was put down to a
disagreement over rent between Mr Hoare and Peter and
John Prince.
I do not believe in reality Mr Hoare could have continued to
run the cinema for much longer anyway. Attendance was
very low and my visit in early 2000 revealed a building where
little if any investment had been made in a long time.
opened around the end of World War I. It was run by F C Wreyford. It
survived as the towns third cinema until 1938 with the installation of
British Thompson Houston sound and had 500 seats. It was run in the
1930s by A R Phern. Once closed it was used as a storeroom before
being altered considerably for boxing matches and is now a shop.
Winter Gardens Pavilion ~ Carlton Theatre
Winter Gardens Pavilion featuring roller skating and dancing. In 1919 the building was much altered
to became the Carlton Theatre. This work is believed to have been carried out by A R Phern of the
Lyceum up the road. There was a 16' wide proscenium stage facilities and 6 dressing rooms. Seating
for 500 and a café were included. British Thompson Houston Sound was also installed.
After the war John Prance's Embassy Cinema (Plymouth) Ltd was running the cinema. Mr Prance had
moved from Plymouth and was living in an adjacent property known as No. 1 Carlton Place.
Late on Saturday night 3rd March 1951 fire destroyed the Carlton and Mr Prance's house. We can get
a very good idea of what this building was like by looking at some of the items on the insurance
claim:
Main Hall:
346 tip up seats
130 brass ashtrays
3 exit signs
Stage:
1 pair of Proscenium curtains, hand controlled
1 pair of screen curtains, motor controlled
1 footlight trough, 26 lights
1 Pathe screen 16' by 12'
1 Harkness screen (spare)
Foyer:
1 large bevelled mirror
Cork lino floor, laid
clock
4 quad crown poster frames
1 framed mirror
signs: exit, ladies, gents, balcony, to stalls
1 portable pay box
7 tip up seats
1 portable easel
Projection Box:
2 Ross AC arcs
2 Kalee 7 mut heads
2 upper spool boxes
2 lower spool boxes
2 BTH converters
Films: Young Widow & Happy's Holiday, claim from United Artists £74
Various trailers and titles
Total insurance claim £5969 16s 8d
Not to be put off by this set back Mr Prance immediately put into motion plans to rebuilt the
cinema in time for the summer season. He appointed CA Pratt Esq of Exeter to the task and he
quoted £15,700 to rebuild the cinema (£3000 less if no balcony). Mr Prance intended to obtain the
money from his family trust fund "as an investment, not an advance". However being so soon after
the war it is no surprise that the Ministry of Works refused the building licence.
The site is now a Police Station. The name Carlton lives on in Teignmouth as the 1960s built theatre
of that name enjoys live stage shows to this day, but has never shown films.