Marlowe Theatre

Built on the site of the Empire Music Hall, the Central Picture Theatre opened on 7th November 1937 with “The Somme”. It was designed by architect H. Anderson of architectural firm Dore & Anderson of Canterbury. The building had a Tudor Revival style facade and the auditorium had seating for 735 in the stalls and 235 in the circle.

It was equipped with a Western Electric(WE) sound system and screened its first ‘talkie’ “Hollywood Revue” on 19th May 1930. It was taken over by the Union Cinemas chain, and they were taken over by the Associated British Cinemas(ABC) chain in October 1937. It was damaged by a bomb during a German air-raid in 1942 and again a few months later. Repairs were carried out, re-opening in March 1943. The Central Picture Theatre was closed on 18th September 1948.

It was purchased by the local council and after alterations by their architect L. Hugh Wilson, it re-opened as a live theatre, the Marlowe Theatre, staging “The Chiltern Hundreds” on 29th May 1950. It was closed on 22nd May 1982 and was demolished to build a shopping centre.

The council had purchased the former Odeon cinema and converted that into the Marlowe Theatre (which has its own page on Cinema Treasures).

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