Grand Theatre
Ryhope Street and St. Pauls Terrace,
Ryhope,
SR2
Ryhope Street and St. Pauls Terrace,
Ryhope,
SR2
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previous Names: Grand Picture Palace
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Located in Ryhope, to the south of Sunderland, County Durham. The Grand Picture Palace was opened prior to 1914. It had a stage and presented cine-variety. Around 1930 it was equipped with a Western Electric(WE) sound system and was re-named Grand Theatre.
The Grand Theatre was closed as a cinema in the 1960’s and was converted into a bingo club. This later closed and the building became a garage and auto parts store, which had closed by 2015. In April 2020 work began to dismantle the building which was reassembled at “Beamish, the Living Museum of the North” in Beamish, near Stanley, County Durham, opening in July 2024 (it has its own page on Cinema Treasures).
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
Great news! This 102 year old building is to be dismantled, brick by brick, and rebuilt as the centrepiece of a ‘new’ 1950’s town at the wonderful Beamish Open Air Museum, close to where I live. 600 good condition seats from the long defunct 1087 seat Palladium Cinema, Durham City (one of the ‘poshest’ cinemas in the North East at one time) have been kindly donated by Durham University as have 2 projectors from the same source (presumably, in the name of authenticity, Kalee 8’s, which the Grand had until Bingo took over in the 1960’s).
Fascinating articles below :–
http://www.beamish.org.uk/cinema-to-be-moved-to-beamish-museum-for-1950s-town/
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/beamish-museum-give-grand-electric-9737646
http://www.sunderlandecho.com/what-s-on/cinema-tv/sunderland-cinema-to-be-moved-brick-by-brick-to-beamish-1-7380068
http://www.demotix.com/photo/8200940/former-grand-electric-cinema-ryhope-donated-beamish
The projectors, by the way, whilst donated by the University, are not from the Palladium which had Kalee 19’s and they remain in situ in that now very decaying building.
3 minute video showing the Grand in its original location for the last time:–
https://www.facebook.com/BeamishLivingMuseum/videos/1625193314182363/
So this historic building will be facing a much brighter future. What wonderful news. Hope everything goes well with the dismantling and transport.
Good luck and greetings from Germany
LoveCinema
Interestingly nothing yet has occurred on the stated project of dismantling and reconstructing this Cinema-Building to Beamish Museum. It now says that “the building is unsafe and not to be entered”. What do the teams of the Beamish Museum org expect a buildings condition to show up after a period of 15 months being vacant??
This doesn’t look good at all for a much brighter future of the “Grand” as stated to the public in February 2018 doesn’t it?
“Miracles Can Happen”! After over 2 years standing with no commencement of the promised “dismantle” of the “Grand Cinema”, Ryhope, work has started last month and the start point is on the removal of slates and the canopy. Having worked for some 3 years giving “Beamish” advice on the building and how it was in the 1950s, and together with member “Terry”, we made our views strongly known and “hey-presto”, work has started. It is hoped that I may be able to forward photos as the stages progress! Once the building is situated at “Beamish” it will represent a cinema of the 50s and show films and possibly newsreels of that period in time!
Bill Mather
Wouldn’t it be very convenient for the ‘Grand’ - once it is installed and ‘up’ and ‘running’ - to show Movies being projected in ‘35mm’ style? There’s plenty of 1950’s films in 35mm to obtain from the BFI, as a friend back in the U.K. was telling me. Could be lovely to run these on certain evenings as a special event.
Well, it looks very much ‘Beamish Museum’ isn’t planning to do so and go ‘Digital’ instead although Original 1950’s ‘Kalee 19’s’ projectors, maintained and in working order were offered to be installed.
‘Digital’ screening would be a heavy contravention for a ‘1950’s’ cinema (in a ‘1950’s Town)! Not only my point of view.
Goodness putting up to date Digital Equipment into an old 50
s cinema such as the Grand would really look out of place, someones bright idea no doubt, probably thinking it would save money…. aye right (Wrong)Back to its former glory, courtesy of Bill Mather and of course Beamish
Ryhope’s Grand Cinema building rebuilt at Beamish Museum
Ryhope’s Grand Cinema building rebuilt at Beamish Museum Bill Mather, who worked in Ryhope’s Grand Cinema in the 1950s, is among the first to see inside.
Look North (North East and Cumbria) - Evening News: 21/06/2024
Look North (North East and Cumbria) - Evening News: 21/06/2024 The latest news, sport and weather for the North East and Cumbria.
try here https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0020dpv/look-north-north-east-and-cumbria-late-news-21062024