The early days of Durham cinema (From Durham Times)

The early days of Durham cinema

12:53pm Wednesday 30th December 2009

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Film historian DR DAVID WILLIAMS is celebrating 100 years of cinema with a programme of ten silent films at Durham’s Clayport Library. Here, he looks back on the early days of cinema in the city.

ON JANUARY 1, 1910, the 1909 Cinematograph Act came into force. Public halls wishing to include flammable cinematograph films in their events needed to make application to the local licensing committee for the granting of a licence.

In Durham, as yet, there were no cinemas but the Palace Theatre of Varieties did have a cinematograph projector, aptly named the cathedoscope, and although the theatre was licensed for live musical performances, it now needed the new licence.

This was granted by the Durham Brewster Sessions, normally charged with approving public house licences.

Most big cities used their watch committees for this process, and several gave the duty to the sanitary committee.

The first event to come under the Act’s jurisdiction was that of travelling showman Randall Williams (actually Richard Monte).

In January, as usual, he set up his show in the Market Place on the occasion of the annual hirings.

His large frontage and marquee, 32 by 14 yards, and its associated pair of steam road engines, two dwelling vans and a kitchen unit must have been very impressive. The 110-key Gavioli mechanical organ managed to drown the sound of the projector and the generator.

His show also needed a licence and a fireproof projection box, which a local policeman and fireman needed to inspect before the show could start.

The first building used as a fixed site cinema in the area was, in fact, not in Durham City, but in Coxhoe.

From February 1910, the assembly hall in that village was leased by Mr J Coleridge for mixed variety and film performances on a weekly basis.

The proprietors “guaranteed respectability”, and offered the “enthusiastic audiences” every comfort.

Lena Coleridge was the pianist, lauded as “Gold Medallist, late of a London Orchestra”.

At various intervals. local comedians Barnes and Sons and vocalist Maude Coates held sway. Reserved seats were one shilling, chairs were 6d and back seats were 3d.

The seating was clearly not firmly fixed, because on Wednesday evenings there was to be ballroom dancing with pictures in the intervals.

Chester-le-Street, too, got a picture hall before Durham when the Hippodrome opened in the Market Place with accommodation for 750 patrons. John Stoker was the proprietor and J Harris, the manager.

The other important person appointed to the cinema was Leon Gould, a very wellknown entertainer and narrator.

The narrator or film describer was still an important addition to the cinema programme.

His role, as suggested by his title, was to add clarity to the narrative of dramatic films and to add live humour to the verbal silence of the screen.

During the next four years, his role and that of the travelling cinematograph showman were progressively phased out.

In the same August week that the Palace reorganised its seating and provided, at the back of the dress circle, a more central projection box, the assembly rooms turned itself over to Cinematograph Entertainment.

“Well’s Animated Pictures” were engaged by Mr Rushworth “for a season”.

On Saturdays, there was a matinee and two evening shows, and on weekdays just two evening shows. As with the Coxhoe presentation, the strength of the illumination may have been better near the front than in the rear, or the practice was to follow that of the live theatre, since stall seats were one shilling, “second” seats 6d, and rear seats 3d.

There was also a small balcony with seats at one shilling and at 6d. In order to comply with the Cinematograph Act, the whole seating plan and building, and the positioning of the projection room, were accompanied by redecoration with plaster ornamentations of the city coat of arms and “handsome floral festoons”.

The manager, Mr CH Ford, had engaged an orchestra under the direction of Mr JW Pinchen, and one of the orchestra members, Cissy Clamp, provided “musical diversions on a number of musical instruments”.

Durham might have had an entirely new Picture Hall if a mysterious notice in the trade magazine The Bioscope had come to fruition.

It stated that Mr TF McDonald and showman Ralph Allan “had secured a valuable site in the centre of Durham where they intended to build a firstclass picture theatre capable of seating 2,000 people.

“Plans had been prepared,” went on the report, “and pending local authority approval building would proceed at once.”

A picture of the proposed building appeared in the Newcastle Illustrated Chronicle on August 17, 1910, suggesting that it was to be built in Claypath, but no more was heard of it, and the plans seem never to have been submitted to the local authority.

All that happened for the rest of this first year of cinema operation in Durham City, was that, following the success of the Wells season at the Assembly Rooms, Mr Rushworth and his son took over the operation with his own “Life Motion Electric Pictures”.

During the next year, the Palace briefly became a cinema, but it would be another two years before the Globe, Durham’s first purpose-built picture hall would appear, and the last travelling cinematograph showman would cease to take up position in the Market Place or at the Sands Easter Fair.

● The season of silent films will be on Tuesday evenings from January 5 in Clayport Library.

Contact the library for details.

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