Beacon Loughborough

The Odeon Theatre, Loughborough was built for Oscar Deutsch as one of his original Odeon chain of cinemas. It was designed by architect Arthur J. Price out of the Harry Weedon Partnership of architects. It opened on 21st November 1936 with Gary Cooper starring in “Mr. Deeds Goes To Town”.

Seating was provided for 1,029 in the stalls on the ground floor and 596 in the circle. Decoration within the auditorium was minimal with troughs of concealed lighting and decorative bands along the walls. The entire exterior façade of the building was covered in Hathernware faience tiles manufactured locally by the Hathern Station Brick and Terra Cotta Company.

The Odeon Loughborough was sold to the Classic Cinemas chain in December 1967 and re-named Classic Cinema. Bingo was tried out from December 1967 until March 1969 when it became the Vogue Social Club, but films returned and it was taken over by the Tigon group of companies who ran it as the Classic Cinema until final closure with Suzy Kendall starring in “Assault” on 12th January 1974.

The Classic name was transferred to the town’s Curzon Cinema (it has its own page on Cinema Treasures) and the Classic (ex-Odeon) became a Mecca Bingo Club. It remained on bingo, known as the Beacon Bingo Club until it was permanently closed in March 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The building remained vacant until April 2024 when it was purchased for £1.25 million, by the Junction Church who plan to restore the building over a 10-years period.

In early-2008, English Heritage designated the former Odeon Loughborough a Grade II Listed building.

Recent comments (view all 5 comments)

CSWalczak on October 31, 2012 at 12:45 am

Here is an exterior picture of the theatre when it was the Odeon, and here is one of the auditorium, both taken soon after opening in 1936.

Ian on December 6, 2016 at 1:14 am

Two exterior photos as the Beacon Bingo Hall, taken in October 2016

BEACON – ex ODEON

BEACON – ex ODEON

ODEONesque on May 24, 2021 at 3:55 am

Big, solid and standing proud, I love it.

michaelbrent on May 26, 2021 at 5:13 pm

Bingo has closed