Gaumont West Hartlepool
Stranton,
Hartlepool,
TS24
Stranton,
Hartlepool,
TS24
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Gaumont-British Picture Corp., Ltd., Rank Organisation, Thompson's Enterprises Ltd.
Architects: W.S. Gibson
Styles: Neo-Classical
Previous Names: Picture House
Nearby Theaters
Located in West Hartlepool, Cleveland, upon which was originally named Stranton Street. The Picture House was opened on 13th December 1920, and was designed by architect W.S. Gibson of Middlesborough. The cinema had a cafe for the convenience of its patrons.
Operated by the North of England Cinema Company (Thompson’s Enterprises Ltd.), it was taken over by Denman/Gaumont British Theatres in March 1928. They equipped it with a Western Electric(WE) sound system in 1929.
It was re-named Gaumont on 3rd July 1950, and in 1955, it was equipped with CinemaScope. The Gaumont was closed on 19th November 1960 with Virginia McKenna in “A Town Like Alice” & James Stewart in “The Glenn Miller Story”, and was converted into a Top Rank Bingo Club. The facade was rebuilt to give a more modern look to the building, and it later became an independent Stranton Fairworld Bingo Club, which closed in 1997, and the building was demolished.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
2 photos uploaded.
According to the Ordance Survey mapping on the NLS site, the street that the Gaumont was located on was called simply “Stranton” (also the name of the district), not Stockton Road which is further north. The final programme at the Gaumont was a revival double bill of A Town Like Alice and The Glen Miller Story for seven days from Sunday November 13th 1960.
The Gaumont was the second cinema in Hartlepool to be equipped for CinemaScope, playing The Black Shield of Falworth from Monday November 2nd 1954 (two weeks after the Forum had played The Command).