Embassy Cinema
Parkway,
Welwyn Garden City,
AL8 6JL
Parkway,
Welwyn Garden City,
AL8 6JL
2 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Shipman & King Cinemas Ltd.
Architects: Arthur W. Kenyon, Louis de Soissons
Styles: Art Deco, Neo-Georgian
Previous Names: Welwyn Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Welwyn Theatre was opened on 27th January 1928 with the German film “Faust”. It was built for both cinema and theatre use and had seating provided for 930 in the stalls and 170 in the circle.
In April 1936 it was taken over by the Shipman & King chain of cinemas and alterations were carried out to the plans of interior designer Louis Ososki. Live shows and films were still part of the programming.
On 27th November 1962 the stage area was destroyed by a fire, the night following the opening of a production of “Carousel”. A new stage-house was built and it re-opened in 1963 as the Embassy Cinema. It was closed on 6th August 1983 with “The Dark Crystal”. The building had been sold and it was demolished to build an office building named Charter House and used by the National Health Service.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
The position shown on the map is incorrect, it was almost next door to John Lewis on Parkway. The correct position is marked as NHS. Although it was completely demolished the frontage of the new builing, Charter House, is very similar to the way it had been. I worked there as a relief projectionist in the late 70s.
Although the articles title is about the Kinema most of it is actually about the Embassy. https://www.ourwelwyngardencity.org.uk/content/topics/sport_and_leisure/theatres-and-cinemas/parkway-hall-and-kinema
There a couple more articles linked to from this page https://www.ourwelwyngardencity.org.uk/content/topics/sport_and_leisure/theatres-and-cinemas/opening-of-the-welwyn-theatre
And another two articles here https://www.ourwelwyngardencity.org.uk/content/category/topics/sport_and_leisure/theatres