Granada North Cheam

562 London Road,
North Cheam, SM3 9AA

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The Granada Theatre in North Cheam opened on 22nd September 1937 with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in "Shall We Dance?" and Roscoe Karns in "Clarence". The opening was attended by film stars Jesse Matthews and her husband Sonnie Hale. The Wurlitzer 3Manual/8Rank organ was opened by organist Lloyd Thomas. The proscenium was 52 feet wide and the fully equipped stage was 12 feet deep. The cinema had a large cafe located over the entrance and large car park which had a capacity for over 200 cars.

Architect James Morrison designed the Granada, but early into its construction he committed suicide, and the project was taken over David Evelyn Nye. The interior was by Russian designer Theodore Komisarjevsky and was considered the finest example of his ‘standard’ Granada Theatre’s.

The Granada was closed on 18th October 1969 with Omar Sharif in "Mayerling". It was demolished and a Sainsbury’s supermarket and offices were built on the site. In July 1995, a pub in the J.D. Wetherspoon chain named The Nonsuch Inn opened at this address.

Contributed by Ken Roe