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Plaza / Granada Cinema, Sutton, Surrey

SUTTON AND MORDEN
From The Face of London by Harold P. Clunn 1956

The main road from Croydon enters Sutton town near the Cock Tavern, at the junction of the High Street and the Brighton Road. In recent years Sutton, distance twelve miles from London, has increased rapidly in size, and together with Cheam was made a municipal borough in 1934. Its population, which was 46,488 in 1931, was estimated at 81,260 in 1949. The parish church of St Nicholas rebuilt in 1864 is in the Gothic style and has a tower with a spire.

The Granada in Sutton, formerly the Plaza, was built as a cinema to house all the major film releases but also had stage facilities and was often home to Pantomimes at Christmas. This Site has much information on the Granada Chain's Pantomime history. The Granada was demolished in the 1970s for the building of a multi-story car park.

Right - Theatre Programme for the Granada Sutton 1955 - Click to see the whole programme - Warning, Large Page!

The town is almost entirely residential, but contains many attractive shops in its long and busy High Street, which leads up a steep hill and forms part of the old Reigate and Brighton Road. These include the large departmental store of Messrs Shinner's at the corner of Hill Road. The Cock Tavern, which has been rebuilt, was a relic of coaching days and the first stage from London. British Railways, Southern Region, has provided an excellent service of electric trains to London by way of Mitcham, and also via Wimbledon, and the town is rapidly extending in the direction of Cheam. The new Sutton by-pass road starts from Green Lane on the north side of the town, and rejoins the main Brighton Road at Belmont, near Banstead Downs.

Above - Postcard showing several views of Sutton, Surrey. The Plaza Cinema became the Granada and was situated at the top of Sutton High Street.

From Sutton it is a journey of about three miles along the main London Road to Morden, passing first the Victoria Pond and the Green at the bottom of Sutton High Street and then Rosehill Park, a large pleasureground with bowling greens and tennis coups on both sides of the main road. Beyond Rosehill Park we come to a large roundabout at the junction of Reigate Road, St Helier Avenue and Bishopsford Road, where there is a handsome terrace of shops and flats and a Gaumont Cinema. Here we reach the splendidly planned St Helier Estate which has been developed by the London County Council since 1927. Thousands of houses have been erected here, most of which stand back in strips of gardens among wide roads and avenues, notably in St Helier Avenue which brings us to Mordenhall Park. This is a lovely domain which was bequeathed to the National Trust by its owner, the late Mr G. S. Hatfield and through which Rows a lake fed by the River Wandle. The mansion is now the offices of the Urban District Council. Close to the park centred round Mordenhall Road and London Road is Morden's great new shopping centre and here also is the spacious Underground Station and omnibus terminus of London Transport. The Urban District of Merton and Morden has a population of 67,055. The adjoining borough of Mitcham (population estimated in 1949 at 75,540) is noted for its annual fair which has been held on 12 August from time immemorial and for market gardening including the cultivation of lavender and similar herbs. It also contains laundries and includes the manufacture of sweets and paper amongst its various industries. Mitcham Common, which lies to the cast of the old village, has an area Of 1,480 acres, and was one of the earliest homes of golf in England. The village green has long been famous for its cricketers, and here also stands the local memorial to five hundred men

Text from The Face of London by Harold P. Clunn 1956

For more on Sutton and its history you may like to visit this website.