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Royal Theatre, Guildhall Road, Northampton
Formerly the Royal Theatre and Opera Hose / The Repertory Theatre

Above - Painting by the late Osborne Robinson of the Auditorium of the Royal Theatre Northampton - From a publicity handout of the then Northampton Repertory Co. (Circa 1970) - Courtesy Alan Chudley.

The Royal Theatre, Northampton was built by the well known Theatre Architect C. J. Phipps and opened in 1884. The Theatre is now Grade II Listed and its auditorium, built on three levels, Stalls and two horseshoe Balconies supported by columns, with a single box on each side at the first balcony level, has a capacity of 583, however, some of this is taken up by seating for 123 people on the top Gallery benches. The Theatre's frontage is of Ancaster stone and a frieze above the entrance canopy depicts the words Royal Theatre and Opera House.

Right - One of the Royal Theatre's boxes - From a publicity handout of the then Northampton Repertory Co. (Circa 1970) - Courtesy Alan Chudley.

The Theatre still owns an original painted Act Drop of 1897 by Ernest Howard, something of a rarity nowadays, and this is now in storage for preservation. The Theatre also owns an even earlier Act Drop, which belonged to the Old Royal Theatre in Marefair, Northampton, which closed when the present Theatre Royal opened. The Act Drop is only 17' wide by 12' 6" deep. The design was later copied to accommodate the new larger Royal Theatre.

Left - The Royal Theatre's Act Drop, now preserved in storage. - From a publicity handout of the then Northampton Repertory Co. (Circa 1970) - Courtesy Alan Chudley.

After a fire in 1887 the Theatre was restored, again by C. J. Phipps, and two years later the Proscenium was widened.

Above - The aftermath of the fire at the Royal Theatre, Northampton on the 12th of February 1887 - From a publicity handout of the then Northampton Repertory Co. (Circa 1970) - Courtesy Alan Chudley.

The Theatre was restored and redecorated in 1960 by the late Osborne Robinson, who painted various murals and updated the previously plain surface which surrounded the Rococo Plasterwork in the auditorium's ceiling with stylised clouds.

Right - The late Osborne Robinson, repainting the Royal Theatre's ceiling circa 1960 - From a publicity handout of the then Northampton Repertory Co. (Circa 1970) - Courtesy Alan Chudley.

In 1983, shortly before the Derngate Theatre next door was built, the Royal Theatre's backstage area was given an overhaul to improve its facilities.

The Royal Theatre has been a producing house ever since the Northampton Repertory Players took up residence in 1927 and can create its own scenery and costumes in house.

In October 2006 both the Royal Theatre and the Derngate next door which original opened in 1985, reopened after an 18 month redevelopment costing over £14m, and are now run as one complex called the Royal and Derngate Theatres.

The Royal Theatre is Grade II Listed and you may like to visit its own Website here.

Derngate Theatre, Guildhall Road, Northampton

The Derngate Theatre, Northampton was built in 1983 to the rear of the Royal Theatre on the site of a previous bus station. The Theatre opened on the 4th of April 1983 with a show staring Jack Jones. The Derngate is linked to the Royal Theatre next door and has a capacity of 1,500 when used for classical Concerts and 1,200 for so called 'Lyric' performances.

The Derngate was designed to be able to stage a large variety of productions such as Opera, Dance, Musicals and Concerts and can be altered to house productions in the round. The Theatre is normally used to house touring productions and is run in conjuction with the Royal Theatre next door.

You may like to visit the Theatre's own Website here.

Savoy Super Cinema, Abbington Street, Northampton
Formerly The ABC / Cannon - Now The Jesus Centre

The building currently known as the Jesus Centre in Abbington Street, Northampton was originally built as a Super Cinema, and was designed by William Riddell Glen who was the in house architect for Associated British Cinemas (ABC) at the time. The Cinema opened as the Savoy on Saturday May the 2nd 1936 with a superb example of an Art Deco auditorium, which had a large capacity on two levels, Stalls and one curving Balcony, for 1,700 people.

The Cinema was tripled in the early 1970s and became part of the Cannon Cinema chain in the 1980s.

The Cinema was closed in 1995 and was eventually purchased by the Jesus Army Charitable Trust who commissioned a report on the Cinema's history and architecture by the University of Leicester Archaeological Services in accordance with Northamptonshire Heritage and the Northamptonshire Borough Council before work on the building's conversion could begin. A record of this article on the building in PDF format is available here.

In 2003 construction began to convert the former Cinema, at a cost of £3m, into the Jesus Army Worship Centre. The original internal structure of the building was repaired and restored and although it is no longer a Cinema, the auditorium, which is Grade II Listed, is now once again visible as Glen's fine Art Deco creation of 1936.

Above - A visual record of the history of the Savoy Cinema, Northampton, and its conversion into the Jesus Centre. (You will need to have the Macromedia Flash Player plug-in installed to be able to view this Video)

Above - A Video on the History of the Jesus Centre, Northampton. (You will need to have the Macromedia Flash Player plug-in installed to be able to view this Video)

New Theatre, Northampton

Above - The New Theatre, Northampton - From an early 1900s Postcard.

The New Theatre, Northampton was built by the respected Theatre Architect W. G. R Sprague and opened on the 9th of December 1912, the same night as The Theatre Royal, Guilford, with a Variety show, the highlight of which, according to the local paper of the time, was 'Smaragda's performing cat.'

The Theatre was demolished in 1960.

Right - Site of the New Theatre, Northampton in 2008 - Courtesy Susan Clarke.

Alan Chudley writes: 'The only time that I went to Northampton was in 1967 when the late Osborne Robinson, the Northampton repertory Company's resident designer was designing "Jack and the Beanstalk" for use at the Yvonne Arnold Theatre in Guildford.

The New theatre by that date was demolished having closed in 1959. In my time The New theatre was leased to Sam Newsome of the Coventry Hippodrome, who made the lease over to FJB theatres in the early 1950s.

Left and Right - Programme for 'Sleeping Beauty' with Cyril Fletcher at the New Theatre, Northampton in December 1957 - Courtesy Susan Clarke.

The New Theatre then became a Number Two Variety house. Freddie Butterworth must have regretted taking on the lease as the New did very poor business, and in its final years it staged mainly strip tease show, thus earning the title of; The Newd Theatre. The last show there in 1959 was; "Strip, Strip Hooray." There are images of the new theatre in Lou Warwick's excellent book; "Death of a Theatre."

While still a Sam Newsome house, the New Theatre staff rewired the Theatre, This image is showing the then new Strand Electric "S" type footlights. The black lamp in the centre of the footlights is an Ultra- Violet lamp widely used in Revue and pantomimes. This photo would be circa 1947. Alan Chudley.

Right - The auditorium of the New Theatre, Northampton circa 1947 - From a period New Theatre publicity handout. - Courtesy Alan Chudley.

If you have any more information about this Theatre or images you are willing to share please Contact Me.

Empire Theatre, Northampton

The Empire Theatre was built in 1874 and was a conversion from a former Music Hall.

The Theatre was demolished in 1901.

If you have any more information about this Theatre or images you are willing to share please Contact Me.

Empire Palace Theatre, Northampton

The Empire Palace Theatre was built in 1855 and rebuilt in 1863.

The Theatre was converted into a Cinema in 1919.

The Cinema was subsequently demolished.

If you have any more information about this Theatre or images you are willing to share please Contact Me.

Grapho's / Winter Garden, Northampton

This Theatre was built in 1910 as a conversion from a former skating rtink.

The Theatre was demolished in 1914 after a fire.

If you have any more information about this Theatre or images you are willing to share please Contact Me.

Palace of Varieties, Gold Street, Northampton

The Palace of Varieties, Northampton was built at the bottom of Gold Street in 1860.

The Theatre was demolished in 1950.

If you have any more information about this Theatre or images you are willing to share please Contact Me.

Osborne Robinson

Alan Chudley writes: Just a few notes on Osborne Robinson, who was a brilliant designer and a highly respected and much loved character. Although Osborne did from time to time design for other theatres; he was known to have designed backcloths for the New Theatre Northampton; he was loathe to work away from his beloved Northampton Royal Theatre.

Right - The late Osborne Robinson, repainting the Royal Theatre's ceiling circa 1960 - From a publicity handout of the then Northampton Repertory Co. (Circa 1970) - Courtesy Alan Chudley.

When I was deputy Master Carpenter at the Yvonne Arnuad Theatre in Guildford, we prevailed upon Osborne for permission to use his designs for "Jack and the Beanstalk" at Northampton the previous year. These had to be rebuilt to accommodate the very much larger stage at Guildford. Hence I went to Northampton to discuss this with Osborne. I have worked with many well known designers, but without doubt, Osborne was the best designer which I ever came across.

The centrepiece of Osborne's sets for Jack and The Beanstalk was Dame Durden's Cottage, at Guildford this became known as Dame Chart's Cottage after the master carpenter who supervised it's building. After the pantomime Dame Chart's Cottage was given to a local Children's home, as a play-house. - Alan Chudley.

FJB Theatre Circuit

Around 1935 when Freddie Butterworth was a Cinema Manager, he decided to return the former Palace Theatre Scunthorpe, revamped as the Savoy Cinema, back into a live theatre and such was the success of this that within a few years he was able to build up a circuit of over a dozen live Number Two theatres: The Savoy Scunthorpe ( Palace Theatre) - The Theatre Royal Lincoln, which became a theatre again after the Lincoln Empire was bombed during the war - The Palace Grimsby reopened as a live theatre after the Tivoli Grimsby was bombed - The Norwich Hippodrome - The Aston Hippodrome Taken over from Sam Newsome - The Wolverhampton Hippodrome taken over from the General Theatre Corporation - The Boscombe Hippodrome also taken over from the General Theatre Corporation - The Grand Southampton, patched up after War damage and reopened as a live theatre - The York Empire - The Bristol Empire - The New Northampton was the last theatre to be added to the circuit.

In London there were also the Bedford Camden Town, The Kilburn Empire, The Grand Croydon, and Richmond Theatre..

Some theatres lasted many years, others such as the Burnley Palace and Theatre Royal Chatham, were only in the FJB circuit for a brief while

On the FJB Circuit, which was always a Number Two Circuit, economy was the by-word. Staffing levels, and the Orchestra members were cut to the bone, as were other expenses such as advertising. However, FJB gave these theatres a longer life then might have otherwise been the case, and for such much credit must be attributed to Freddie Butterworth.

This information was kindly written for the site by Alan Chudley.

Lou Warrick - Theatre Critic

Another well loved character in Northampton was Lou Warrick, the local Theatre Critic. He loved both Northampton theatres, particularly the New Theatre where he made many friends within the touring companies, towards the end of the" NEWD" Theatres life.

Revues often stayed in residence for several weeks, presenting a different version each week, thus saving touring costs. It was a sad day for Lou when FJB informed the local press that they would no longer require reviews. Lou had blotted his copy book, by saying that some of the Sketches in Terry (Toby Jug) Cantor's revues were old hat and that the audience knew the Tag Line by heart.

I came across Terry Cantor several times and he always gave value for money, albeit, as Lou said, with material which was a trifle dated. However, I do not think the audiences noticed this too much, as few had Lou's experience of Theatre going. Terry Cantor was a popular and good revue comedian, and a very pleasant man to know and work with, but he did not take kindly to criticism.

This information was kindly written for the site by Alan Chudley.