Essoldo Chester-le-Street
119 Front Street,
Chester-le-Street,
DH3 3BL
119 Front Street,
Chester-le-Street,
DH3 3BL
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From the Chester-le-Street Heritage Group :–
http://www.chesterlestreetheritage.org/page26.html
The Essoldo closed the very same day that the company closed their very large Newcastle upon Tyne theatre for its expensive twinning.
Essoldo intended to open a brand new cinema on part of the site in partnership with one of the large supermarket chains. The proposed 500 seat luxury cinema would have occupied the first floor with the supermarket being at ground level. I do not know what scuppered these plans but they did not materialise.
In common with many cinemas, the Front of House of the Essoldo was some distance away from the theatre itself (and,in this case,the ballroom) with a long walkway leading to the foyer. In 1972 this was demolished leaving the cinema and ballroom visible from Front Street for the very first time.
When Classic Cinemas acquired the Essoldo chain in 1972 the Chester Le Street cinema was part of the deal – as was the Capitol in nearby Low Fell which had been operating as a bingo hall since 1967. Essoldo had intended to twin this venue in a similar manner to Newcastle although Classic went ahead with a triple conversion.
Classic had various plans to reopen the Chester le Street cinema in one form or another but none came to fruition. This was a pity as there was potential for a cinema in the town and the old Essoldo itself was still quite busy at the time of its closure.