Odeon Cheltenham

Originally opened on 6th March 1933 as the Gaumont Palace Theatre it was a project of Gaumont/Albany Ward and PCT and had a seating capacity of 1,774. Additional facilities included a 100 seat cafe/ballroom. The facade has two relief sculptures by Newbury A. Trent, which depict dancing figures holding up strips of celluloid, capturing the ‘spirit of romance of the film’. The safety curtain had a painted scene by artist Frank Barnes. The proscenium was 45 feet wide, the stage 22 feet deep and it was fully equipped for live shows. The Gaumont Palace Theatre was equipped with a Compton 3Manual/8Ranks organ.

In 1937 it became the Gaumont and was re-named Odeon from 16th December 1962. Divided into a triple screen cinema from 1973. It was later further sub-divided into seven screens, with the extra screens being formed out of the former cafe/ballroom in 1987, the front stalls and on the stage in 1989.

The cinema was closed 5th November 2006.

Recent comments (view all 12 comments)

iwrotethis on November 6, 2006 at 3:09 am

The Odeon Cheltenham closed down permanently on 5th November 2006. Odeon management cited competition from the nearby Cineworld multiplex as the main cause.

As the building is, architecturally, a shadow of its former self and furthermore has been messily subdivided, it seems inevitable that the land will be sold off and the building destroyed.

jmq on December 13, 2006 at 7:18 am

Website about the Cheltenham odeon: View link

lostmemory on December 13, 2006 at 10:23 am

Here is a recent photo of the Odeon Cheltenham.

iwrotethis on December 20, 2006 at 11:41 pm

In the light of JMQ’s excellent website, I’m pleased to say I stand corrected: there seems to be much in the way of original features that could be preserved if the building were to be restored to its original state. Here’s hoping…

lostmemory on September 11, 2008 at 5:44 pm

Another photo can be seen here.

woody on September 15, 2009 at 5:30 am

depressing images here on 28 days later, the auditorium has been gutted, the ceiling gone except for the metal girders
View link

KenRoe on September 15, 2009 at 7:48 am

The Gaumont Palace Theatre, photographed in 1933 soon after opening:
View link

woody on September 15, 2009 at 2:23 pm

photos i took in 1988 when it still had a central ODEON sign which made sense of the two figures
exterior
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/70182094/
close up
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/364916124/

Ladygrey on November 27, 2010 at 5:33 am

I have very fond memories of The Odeon, my Mother used to work there as an usherette in the 1970’s. My Brother and I spent many happy hours there watching films and roaming around the cinema – much to the annoyance of an audience that was watching a film that happened to be on at the time! It is a beautiful building and a much missed cinema, it still stands empty.

The following photos, were taken in My 2000 and 2001.
The last photo was taken in August 2010.

Ladygrey on November 28, 2010 at 10:53 am

Another photo of The Odeon, taken in April 1999.