The Gaumont Palace Theatre, Corporation Street, Taunton, Somerset

Later - Odeon / Top Rank Bingo Club / Mecca Bingo

Above - Architect William T. Benslyn's Perspective of the new Gaumont Palace Theatre, Taunton which would open in July 1932 - From The Bioscope, 9th of December 1931.

The Gaumont Palace Theatre, Taunton was designed by the architect William T. Benslyn and was opened by the Mayor of Taunton, W. E. Maynard, on the 11th of July 1932 with a showing of the Film 'Sunshine Susie'.

Right - The Gaumont Palace Theatre, Taunton - From the Kinematograph Weekly, 21st of July, 1932.

The Theatre was primarily built for Cinema use but also included a fully equipped Stage and Stage House with fly tower etc. The stage was very wide, 74 feet, but had a shallow depth of only 21 foot making it suitable for variety and concerts but not so useful for full scale productions. There were however, eight dressing rooms for artists and over the years the Theatre would be quite regularly used for Amateur Productions and later many Professional Music Concerts by all manor of well known names were staged there.

Work began on the Theatre in August 1931 and took nearly a year to complete. When it was finished though Taunton found itself with a new purpose built Cinema / Theatre with a large and magnificent auditorium which could accommodate 1,476 people. There was also a very large cafe situated above the foyer, panelled with birch, with a frieze above painted by Frank Barnes, the Company's inhouse painter. Above the cafe was the projection room equipped with Gaumont Projectors and British Acoustic Sound Apparatus.

The exterior of the Theatre was faced with local sand faced bricks of a 'rich golden brown' colour, according to the Kinematograph Weekly of July the 21st 1932, who went on to say 'The beauty of this particular brick has been emphasised by its use in projecting bands, recessed and ribbed panels etc.' The Theatre's main entrance on Corporation Street was surrounded by an architrave of Ham Hill stone which was also evident in the exterior of the projecting cafe above, with sculpted features by Newbury Trent. Sculpted figures of land and sea in the entrance foyer were created by A. Hinton.

Above - The Auditorium of the Gaumont Palace Theatre, Taunton showing the ceiling and proscenium decorations - From the Kinematograph Weekly, 21st of July, 1932.

The Theatre's Auditorium was designed in the Art Deco Style with a coffered ceiling with hidden lighting and painted in cream, gold, and orange.

Right - The Auditorium Ceiling of the Gaumont Palace Theatre, Taunton - From the Kinematograph Weekly, 21st of July, 1932.

The walls of the Auditorium were covered with Tekko Wallpaper in purple, gold, and orange. Seating in the Theatre was supplied by W. W. Turner and Co. Ltd., and was formed of chairs upholstered in a rich plum colour. The Auditorium's Fibrous Plasterwork was created by A. Hinton of Brian Adamanta Ltd. A large circular central light feature in the ceiling could be illuminated in any colour by the hidden lighting in troughs which surrounded it. Indeed lighting was a major feature of the Auditorium and included many recesses with hidden lights which could illuminate the walls, proscenium and ceiling in a multitude of colours. All the wall hangings, curtains, and decorative effects were designed by the Architect.

Above - A Full Page Advertisement Feature for the Opening of the Gaumont Palace Theatre, Taunton - From the Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser, 6th of July 1932.

Opening on the 11th of July 1932 Taunton's new Gaumont Palace Theatre was originally Managed by Ralph M. Leddra who would go on to run the Theatre for the next three years until he was appointed Circuit Manager for the Gaumont British Picture Corporation. He had previously worked at the Haymarket Theatre in London, and for many tours around the Country before becoming Manager of the Gaumont, Plymouth, the Palladium Exeter, and the Gaumont Palace, Exeter.

Right - A Google StreetView Image of the former Gaumont Palace Theatre, Taunton during its Mecca Bingo years in October 2020 - Click to Interact.

The Theatre was very successful for many years showing both Films and occasional Live Shows, often performed by the Taunton Operatic Society.

In 1969 the Theatre was taken over by Odeon and renamed as such but carried on being a successful venue. In its later years the Theatre's Stage was regularly used for one off pop concerts by the likes of Adam and the Ants, Iron Maiden, Peter Gabriel, Hot Chocolate, the Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Elton John, The Kinks, Freddy and the Dreamers, The Zombies etc., and became a much loved venue for locals to see their favourite Films and Artists.

Left - An Advertisement for a variety of 'Celebrity Concerts' to be held at the Odeon, Taunton in 1981 - From the Bristol Evening Post, 17th of July 1981.

Sadly this was all to come to an end however, when it was announced that the Gaumont was to be converted for Bingo use in 1981. The last show there was a concert by the pop group Showaddywaddy on the 4th of September 1981 and the following day the Theatre closed for good.

There was much disappointment by the local population, publicised in the press of the time, but the Rank Organisation said that the Theatre had been losing money for some time and couldn't go on doing so. There was an effort to try and get them to retain the stage so that concerts could still be performed there but it was not to be.

Right - A Google StreetView Image of the Side and Rear Elevations of the former Gaumont Palace Theatre, Taunton during its Mecca Bingo years in May 2009 - Click to Interact.

The Theatre reopened as a Top Rank Bingo Club in November 1981, later becoming a Mecca Bingo Club. Despite the change of use however, and the loss of the projection room for office use, the Auditorium and Foyers have remained in their original form and the Theatre is still in good condition today.

Bingo use ended in June 2026 and currently the former Gaumont is closed and boarded up. But it is a Grade II Listed Building and plans are afoot to reopen it as a muliti purpose arts and cultural venue by the Gaumont Palace Community Trust, you can read all about their hopes for the revival of this iconic Taunton Venue on their own Website here.

There is a plethora of very nice images of this Theatre on the Cinema Treasures Website here.

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