Pavilion Cinema

The small County Durham community of Grange Villa, not far from Chester-Le-Street, was built to house miners, most of whom worked in either the Handen Hold Colliery, to the north of the village, or the Alma Pit, to the south.

The Coronation Pavilion opened by 1911 when it was used for theatre or variety use, having gained a stage licence on 13th December 1911. By January 1912 it had a Cinematograph Licence. The 1914 Kinematograph Year Book(KYB) listed 850 seats and the owner as Christopher (Kit) Buckton. In the early-1920’s it was briefly renamed Hippodrome Theatre. By 1927 it was showing films and had been re-named Pavilion Theatre. The 1931 edition gave further details: the Pavilion Cinema had a 20ft deep stage and three dressing rooms.

It has been said that the Pavilion Cinema was the first cinema in the area to be wired for sound (Electrocord). Bud Flanagan appeared on its stage.

By the 1953 KYB the owner was shown as Mrs Buckton, possibly Kit’s widow.

The Pavilion Cinema closed in late-1960. It was converted into a bingo club which operated until 1983. Plans to convert into flats were proposed in 1985.

By the time I visited, in October 2005, the building had been converted into housing. It is situated at the end of Front Street, at the junction of Coronation Terrace and West Street.

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