Theatres in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

The Majestic Theatre / Odeon - The Swan Theatre

See also - The Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

The Swan Theatre, St Mary Street, High Wycombe

Above - The Swan Theatre, High Wycombe in February 2013 - Courtesy Tim Speechley.

The Swan Theatre is a large and modern purpose built Theatre situated on St. Mary Street, High Wycombe. It was designed by Buckinghamshire County Architects and opened in November 1992 as a home for nationwide tours and home grown productions. It is also home to the Wycombe Swan Youth Theatre group who stage productions there on a regular basis.

Above - The auditorium of the Swan Theatre, High Wycombe in February 2013 - Courtesy Tim Speechley

The Theatre's auditorium is capable of seating over 1,000 people on three levels and has good backstage facilities.

The Swan is owned by the Wycombe District Council but is run on a lease by HQ Theatres. The Theatre forms part of a complex which also houses the Town Hall and the Oak Room, which is a function room for conferences and the like.

Left - The auditorium of the Swan Theatre, High Wycombe in February 2013 - Courtesy Tim Speechley.

The Theatre was refurbished in 2010 at a cost of over a million pounds which included reseating the auditorium and improving backstage technical facilities.

You may like to visit the Swan's own website here.

The Majestic Theatre, Castle Street, High Wycombe

Later - The Odeon Cinema

See also - The Majestic Theatre, Staines - The Majestic Theatre, Wembley - The Majestic Theatre, Mitcham - The Majestic Theatre, Woodford

Above - The Exterior of the Majestic Theatre, High Wycombe - Courtesy High Wycombe Library.

The Majestic Theatre was situated on Castle Street, High Wycombe and opened on the 27th of January 1930.

Right - A Street Parade Advertising the Film 'My Old Dutch' at the Majestic Theatre, High Wycombe in 1934. Street Parades like this were quite a regular feature in High Wycombe in the 1930s - From the Kinematograph Weekly, 6th of December 1934.

The Theatre was designed by S. B. Pritlove with Interior Designs by W. E. Greenwood and was the third Theatre built for the Majestic Theatres Corporation, Ltd., chain of Theatres, which were all situated in the outer London Suburbs and the South East.

The Majestic Theatre's Auditorium was built on two levels, stalls and one circle, and designed in the Atmospheric Style with a Venetian theme with seating for just under 1,500 people, and was similar in style to the Company's second Theatre, the Majestic Theatre in Staines.

Left - The Auditorium of the Majestic Theatre, High Wycombe - Courtesy High Wycombe Library.

The Theatre's stage was just over 36 feet wide but quite shallow in depth as the Cinema Screen was situated at the rear of it. It was fully equipped however, so that Variety shows could be interspersed with the films, and there were several dressing rooms to accommodate the artists. There was also an Orchestra Room behind the stage and an Orchestra Pit in front, which also housed the Theatre's Compton Organ Console. Patrons were also able to visit a large Tea Lounge and cafe in the building designed in the atmospheric style of a venetian courtyard. A Report on the Majestic Theatre, High Wycombe from the Kinematograph Weekly of the 30th of January 1930 can be seen below.

Above - A Report on the Majestic Theatre, High Wycombe - From the Kinematograph Weekly, 30th of January 1930.

The Bioscope also reported on the new Majestic Theatre, High Wycombe along with a very nice illustration of the auditorium (shown below) in their 5th of February 1930 edition saying:- 'The Majestic Theatre, High Wycombe, which was opened on January 27th by Major-General Sir Alfred Knox, K.C.B, C.M.G., M.P., is the second theatre [sic] to be opened by the Majestic Theatres Corporation Ltd., whose directors are W. E. Greenwood (Chairman), T. Clarke, H. J. Cox, H. Fear, A. Ferriss, W. T. Latter, H. Loufte, R. H. Powis and V. G. Sanders. The manager of the new house is Charles L. Longman.

The theatre, which seats 1,486 people, was designed by S. B. Pritlove, of 6, Sherwood Street, Piccadilly, W., who recently completed the Majestic Staines, and also planned the new Gaumont studio at Shepherd's Bush. Constructed of steel and concrete, the building incorporates all the latest devices for safety. The floors are of concrete reinforced with steel, and the balcony, which is supported by a girder 74 feet long and over 20 tons in weight, is built in concrete steppings. As the site is on the side of a hill, with a slope from front to rear of about 20 feet, special planning was necessary.

Modern Yet Classic

Modern in character yet classic in suggestion, the front elevation is dignified in appearance. There is a spacious entrance, which incorporates four pairs of wide panel doors with artistic copper glazing, and which lead into the crush hall. Over the entrance is a large ornamental archway, and on either side are windows treated with leaded light glazing illustrating the sun's rays.

On either side of the entrance is a shop. Adorning the front of the building are baskets of flowers, and surmounting it are three flagstaffs, one at each end and one on top of the pediment, the latter being ornamented with a large illuminated spherical lantern. The whole is flood-lighted.

The front elevation is carried out in white cement and multi-coloured brickwork, the semi-circular arch, the window dressings and the pediment and cornice being in parts executed in white cement.

The crush hall is modern in design and in keeping with the front elevation. The rays of the sun are seen in light fittings and in the terrazzo and rubber floors. The colours used in decoration are bluey-greens, clouded or mottled, with pinks, blues and golds, to give a soft and rich background to the dignified and bold effect of the fluted columns and arched beams in metallic colours. The flooring is of rubber.

Accommodation for 1,486

Above - The Auditorium of the Majestic Theatre, High Wycombe when it first opened - From The Bioscope, 5th of February 1930.

The ground floor has a seating capacity of 986, the seats being radially arranged so that perfect sightline to the screen and stage is assured. There are four gangways and six exits. The Balcony, which is entered by means of a spacious foyer, has seating for 500 people. Two exits are provided.

The stage, at the back of which s the screen, is 36 ft. 6 ins. wide. Variety turns are to be included in the programme, and the drapery and lighting of the stage have been provided with this in mind. Dressing rooms for both sexes, and orchestra room and music store are provided. In the orchestra pit there is provision for an orchestra and for the console of the John Compton organ.

The scheme of decoration is atmospheric, the design being that of W. E. Greenwood, who was also responsible for designing the fibrous plaster, seating, stage settings, lighting, carpeting, and the uniforms of the usherettes.

The scheme is Venetian, presenting salients in the nature of towers, turrets, arches, bridges, ornamental walls and features, trees, flowers, and a blue sky. The ceiling, into which the decoration of the walls merges, is coved and curved, and provides a sky of tropical suggestion. It is pierced with thousands of small holes, which aid the ventilation. In the turrets on the rear walls are flood-lights, which are used to light the side walls, and there are also lights in the niches and recesses. The general lighting has been set in the balcony behind painted ornamental features.

"Courtyard" Tea Room

There is a large tea-lounge and café, decorated to represent a courtyard scene. Beams of antique appearance intersect the ceiling, forming a pergola, while the walls represent old stonework. The beams are supported by heavy wooden piers, on which trees are modelled.

In the spacious projection room there is ample accommodation for the two Simplex projectors and the Powers Cinephone apparatus, with room to spare for any future development.

Right - An Advertisement for Powers Cinephone 'Sound Reproducers' latest installations including the Majestic Theatre, High Wycombe - From The Bioscope, 6th of November 1929.

Dimmers for the whole theatre are housed in an adjoining chamber. On the same floor is the battery room for the secondary lighting system by Chloride storage batteries. Duplicate exits are provided.

The invisible system of hot water heating by means of radiators has been incorporated ingeniously with the atmospheric treatment. Ventilation is by means of electric fans, one extracting from under the balcony and another from the main auditorium ceiling, direct to the outer air. Fresh air is arranged by means of two blower type fans, which introduce warm air in the winter and cool air in the summer.

Above - A photograph and Information on the Projection Room at the Majestic Theatre, High Wycombe - From The Kinematograph Weekly, 8th of July 1933.

The John Compton Organ

A magnificent John Compton cinema organ has been installed. The main portions of the organ are accommodated in a large chamber on the right side of the screen, which is fitted with special expression shutters, by which the organist can control the volume of tone produced by the organ. The tone is produced from many hundreds of pipes of varying lengths. The smallest is a fraction of an inch in length and of strawlike thinness, whilst the largest is 16 feet long and of a diameter large enough to provide a comfortable hiding-place for a small boy.

Right - An Advertisement for Compton Theatre Organs, as installed at the Majestic Theatre, High Wycombe amongst others - From The Bioscope 19th of March 1930.

So varied are the voices of the pipes that almost any instrument in the symphony orchestra has its counterpart in the organ. String, wood, wind and brass, in addition to the dignified organ tones, are available when required.

The organist also has at his command the resources of a complete equipment of percussion instruments, including zylophone glockenspiel, drums, castanets, tom-tom, tambourine, cymbals, triangles, etc., and a varied complement of effects (among which are the surf, aeroplanes and birds) enable him the more conveniently to illustrate the picture.

To cater for the convenience of motorists, a site has been secured for a large car park with two drives, for entrance and exit respectively.

The opening programme included Billie Dove in "Careers," Walter Porde in "Would You Believe It ?" a Mickey Mouse cartoon and the Gaumont Sound News.

List of Contractors

Following is a list of contractors :W. J. Cearns (The Structural Engineering Company), Carpenter's Road, Stratford, E.15, general contractors; John Compton Organ Company, Ltd., Turnham Green Terrace, W.4, Compton Organ; Powers Cinephone Equipment (Parent) Syndicate Ltd., Film House, Wardour Street, W., sound equipment; Bryan's Adamanta, Ltd., Mars Works, Great Francis Street, Birmingham, plaster work; Val Prince, 23, Rose Street, Floral Street, W.C.2, decorations; Plastic Wallite, Ltd., 151, Great Portland Street, W.1, old walling effects; Doulton, Ltd., Albert Embankment, S.E.1, sanitary equipment; R. Langston-Jones &. Co., Teddington, electrical work; Newtons (Taunton), 6, Grape Street, W.C.2, electrical equipment; Hall & Dixon, Ltd., 19, Garrick Street, W.C.2, curtains, tracks, etc.; Maple & Co., Ltd., W.1, carpets; Tomlyn & Stone, Ltd., Oxford Road, High Wycombe, chairs; Cement Marketing Company, Ltd., Portland House, Tothill Street, W.1, "Snowcrete" white Portland cement; Pasmore & Warne, 48, Eastbourne/Avenue, Acton, W., invisible cafe-orchestra; Gardiner, Sons & Co., Ltd., Midland Iron Works, Bristol, ornamental ironwork, etc.; Chloride Electrical Storage Company, Ltd., 137, Victoria Street, S.W.1, emergency lighting; Robert Adams, 1 and 2, Orchard Street, Victoria Street, S.W., "Victor" door springs; Robertson & Sanderson, 17, Southampton Street, Holborn, W.C., rubber flooring; Edgar Fitton & Co., Ltd., 101, Hatton Garden, E.C., central heating; Conrad Parlanti, Ltd., Teddington, wrought-iron balustrading; W. J. Purse & Co., Ltd., 9, Carteret Street, Westminster, S.W., complete stage equipment; Pyrene Company, Ltd., 9, Grosvenor Gardens, S.W.1., fire appliances; J. Prank Brockliss, Ltd., 58, Great Marlborough Street, W.1, Simplex projectors; Theatre Equipment, Ltd., 173, Wardour Street, W,, arc lamps, switchboards, etc.; James Stott & Co. (Engrs.), Ltd., 145, Queen Victoria Street, E.C., "Stott" Regular Café set; E. Pollard & Co., Ltd., St. John Street, Clerkenwell, E.C., signs.'

The above text in quotes was first published in The Bioscope, 5th of February 1930.

Above - A Google StreetView Image showing the site of the former Majestic Theatre, later a Woolworth's Store, Castle Street, High Wycombe, in January 2017 - Click to Interact.

The Majestic Theatre had opened on the 27th of January 1930 under the control of the Majestic Theatres Corporation, Ltd., but was taken over by County Cinemas in 1932, and they were in turn taken over, in 1939, by Oscar Deutsch's Odeon Theatres chain of Theatres. Unlike the Majestic, Staines however, after Odeon took over this Theatre they did rename it to an Odeon Cinema, in August 1944, whereas the Staines Theatre retained its Majestic name throughout its life.

Odeon continued to run the Theatre for the next few decades but eventually closed it on the 25th of January 1969 and the Theatre was then demolished immediately and an unremarkable looking Woolworth's store was then constructed on its site. The Theatre's Compton Organ was apparently moved to the Quarrendon County Secondary School in Aylesbury however, so at least something was saved from this Theatre before it was demolished, and after having only reached its 39th year in operation.

Some of the information for this Theatre was gleaned from the excellent Cinema Treasures Website.

If you have any more information or Images for this Theatre that you are willing to share please Contact me.