Essoldo Crook
Bankfoot Road,
Crook,
DL15
Bankfoot Road,
Crook,
DL15
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Essoldo Circuit (Contol) Ltd.
Architects: Albert H. Fennel, Joseph H. Morton
Firms: Joseph H. Morton & Son
Previous Names: New Hippodrome, Hippodrome Cinema
Nearby Theaters
No theaters found within 30 miles
Located in Crook, County Durham. The New Hippodrome was opened in 1922 as a cinema & opera house. It was designed by architect Albert H. Fennell and had a 23ft wide proscenium, the stage was 14ft deep and there were two dressing rooms. It was owned by the Crook Cinema Co. By 1924 it had been taken over by Sol Sheckman’s North Eastern Theatres and he hired architectural firm J.H. Morton & Son to carry out alterations. By 1938 it was operated by North East Coast Cinemas and in 1945 it was taken over by the Essoldo Cinemas chain and re-named Essoldo.
The Essoldo was closed in 1969 and has since been demolished.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
3 photos uploaded of the Essoldo when it was still open. One shows the theatre in its ‘heyday’ as the Hippodrome whilst another taken in the early 1960’s features the adjacent railway line (which went to Bishop Auckland) with a British Railways ‘Standard Class 4 2-6-4’ tank loco running ‘light engine’. Small market towns like Crook somehow seemed ‘lost’ after their cinemas and rail connections ceased to be……
This Essoldo plus two others in Spennymoor and Shildon all closed on the same evening in 1969. Shildon Essoldo, by far the smallest of the three venues, bowed out with a week of James Bond films including ‘Goldfinger’ which I believe was the last to be screened. I wonder if Essoldo Ltd also booked these for the other two cinemas?
It’s a fairburn tank engine ;)
I could not make out the number on the smoke-box but you are spot on as the BR design began with 80 ;)