June Gallery- Cinema in Braintree
from Mercia Bioscope no. 94 February 2005
CINEMA IN BRAINTREE
Richard Cooper
When I first came to live in the Essex town of Braintree, it was a relatively small community that boasted little more than a quaint High Street with a couple of supermarkets, a number of pubs and a twice-weekly market. Already struggling for survival by the early 1980s was the one remaining cinema, the Embassy, which was, at this time, splitting the weekly programme by showing films for four nights of the week and bingo for the remaining three.
Now, more than twenty years later, ideally situated with easy access to London-Stanstead airport, Braintree has extended its boundaries and become a place to visit rather than just pass through. The town centre remains relatively unchanged, but the developments on the outskirts of the town include a designer shopping village, a bowling alley, nightclubs, restaurants and a twelve-screen Cineworld.
My first experience of the Embassy, as a visitor to Braintree in the late sixties, was to see a revival double-bill of The Wizard of Oz and Tom Thumb. Being a holiday attraction, almost all of the 1005 seats were taken (333 of these were circle seats) and the theatre was buzzing with usherettes with ice creams being sold from trays and a family atmosphere rarely experienced in this new century. The Embassy had been a successful place of entertainment since opening in April 1933, where it was built on the site previously occupied by the Palace.
The Palace, owned by Cyril Getliffe, opened in 1912 featuring films and stage productions. It was extended in the early 1920s under a change of ownership to Tozer & Linsell to counter opposition from the new Central. There was a café. Shipman & King took control of the theatre in 1929, and they or earlier owners had installed a Picturetone sound system. By 1935 the Palace had been demolished and replaced by the Embassy.
About 200 yards along the High Street, the Central Picture House was also functioning as a cinema/variety theatre. It opened in the early 1920s with stalls and balcony offering a total seating capacity of 685, and a stage with dressing rooms, and boasted a ‘café lounge’. By the late 1920s it, too, had come under the control of Shipman & King. They installed Western Electric sound. Later they shortened the name to the Central Cinema.
Purchase of these two cinemas brought the fledgling circuit up to 10 halls. Prices under S & K after sound were 5d. to 1/10d at the Central, and 4d. to 1/3d. at the Palace.
The Central continued to show films until about 1957, when it closed, and the building was reopened as a retail store. This is still the case in 2004 with the frontage above the shop fascia remaining unchanged (see right).
The Embassy was designed by Kemp & Tasker, and opened in April 1935. It was the circuit’s first new cinema, and their first called Embassy. Seating 1,005, it had a café, stage facilities, dressing rooms, and a 3c/6 Christie organ with illuminated console on a lift, opened by Thomas W. Grosch. The architect stated later that ‘the client was responsible for the somewhat unusual type of decoration.’
CinemaScope was fitted in the middle 50s, and dressing rooms are no longer listed, so it may be stage shows finished after the new screen was installed. It continued to flourish under Shipman & King throughout the sixties and into the seventies. During these years the theatre showed new releases about one month after their London general release. Films that went on general release after a West End run would invariably reach Chelmsford, which is closer to London, after two weeks and then Braintree and Maldon (where another Embassy, also under Shipman & King, was providing a similar programme) one or two weeks later. The main feature would run for six days with a change of programme for Sundays. This was usually a restricted release film or occasionally an ‘adult’ feature. Sometimes the week was split into three, with general releases shown for three days each, as well as a Sunday special.
By 1972 the Embassy, no longer under Shipman & King, had been renamed Studio One – along with the Embassy at Maldon. It was at this time that the stalls seats were removed to accommodate the split weekly programmes of films and bingo, and the organ went to a private collector. This proved relatively successful throughout the remainder of the seventies, although the new name did not last and it reverted to its former name. The Embassy lettering at the top of the building had never been removed; the Studio One name was only in place above the main doors.
Into the eighties difficulties arose when fewer people used the Embassy, which was then under the control of the Coral group. Full-time bingo did not provide the answer and ultimately ceased. Over in Maldon the other Embassy closed in 1982 and was demolished in 1985. In Braintree, the Embassy closed from time to time during the late eighties and early nineties with different proprietors trying various ways of keeping the theatre open. It was never twinned, but the stalls seating was never replaced, and films were shown to the circle seats. The stalls was occasionally used as a disco and even as an indoor market, Braintree Lanes, though this curious and rather disgusting idea – the cinema smelt of burgers and onions – failed after a few months. Films continued until 1993 when the tabs closed for the last time. My last visit to the cinema, like the first, was to see a reissue of a family feature; this time Disney’s The Jungle Book.
The fate of the building was in jeopardy until it reopened as a Wetherspoon’s pub in 1997. Once again, the Embassy is a thriving concern, with many original features still apparent. The name remains at the top of the frontage and the circle seating is untouched. The bar stands in front of the screen, which occasionally shows (in a reduced size format) special TV events such as Euro 2004. Members of staff have been spotted sitting in the circle to view these, although the area remains closed to the public. The art deco designs on either side of the proscenium have been restored, and are complimented by a specially-created carpet featuring the same design. The dividing wall between the foyer and the stalls has been removed to make an open plan bar area. Not perfect: at least the Embassy has not suffered the same fate as many contemporaries and disappeared altogether.
In November 2002 cinema returned in the shape of the 12-screen Cineworld. Business was good from the start and remains so. We in Braintree can consider ourselves fortunate that we have 12 screens to view the latest releases, and ageing enthusiasts like me can have a pint at the Embassy on the way home and reflect on days gone by.
1 Central Cinema
2 Embassy still as cinema in 1987.
3 Embassy ante-proscenium plenum grille today (former stage on right).
4 The former Embassy as Wetherspoon’s today.
5 The 12-screen Cine-World.
All the photographs in this article are by the author.