All the World's a Stage - Act II Palace Theatre

In the Winter edition of 2016, I wrote an article entitled “All the World’s a Stage – Act I” covering the history of the Theatre Royal, Temple Street, dating back to 1807. Mother Goose was the first pantomime to be performed there during 1809, and it was still in use until the 1880’s, when it was left empty; Theatre Royal was finally demolished during 1899. It served Swansea as a place of entertainment for 93 years. Prior to its closure a drill hall situated on Singleton Street was purchased during 1892, but by 1897 this was gone and the Grand Theatre was built. This is Act II and looks at the early history of the Palace Theatre. 
In 1887 Queen Victoria celebrated her Golden Jubilee. In January 1888 the Lawn Tennis Association was formed. August saw the passing of the Local Government Act establishing the County Councils and County Boroughs. The Act allowed women to vote at County and Borough Council elections, however this was not granted until 1907. Swansea County Borough Council was formed in 1889. November 1889 saw the first local elections in Swansea, 16 candidates for 7 seats. The biggest news of 1888 was the murder of five women in Whitechapel, London at the hand of Jack the Ripper. The population of Swansea by this time had reached 100,000.
Early in 1888, the junction of High Street and the Prince of Wales Road in Swansea, was a district which according to the South Wales Echo, 19 October 1888, was described as lacking in architectural beauty. A new theatre had been built under the direct-ion of architects Messrs Bucknall and Jennings of Swansea, Bristol and London costing £12,000. The horse shoe shape theatre was built on the site of the Ancient Briton public house and was a music hall for a variety of entertainments. This was a joint venture by the tramway company, and a Mr. Almond. The hall would have accommodated an audience of nearly 1000 people; 375 in the main theatre, the balcony holding 260 and the gallery a further 270 people. This is the building that we see today. Bucknall and Jennings’ other building work included the private Adelina Patti Theatre, at Craig-y-Nos Castle, built 1891.
South Wales Daily News reported on 21 December 1888, that the Swansea Pavilion had been booked up till the following year. The Western Mail, 26 December reported in an article of the opening of the Swansea Pavilion Music-hall and Theatre of Varieties, on the Christmas Eve. ‘Amongst those present at the opening were Mr D.F. Sugrue (Chairman) Mr John Thomas (town clerk), and Dr Howell Thomas. The first artist, Miss Alice Melville, Mr George Belview followed, his chief song being attired in military attire with sword exercises. Perhaps the greatest success of the evening however, was the juggling performance of Jules Poule. Fred Griffin, comedian. Other artists producing favourable impressions were Ashford and German, variety performers, Miss Polly Randall, and Miss Madick.’
The theatre was still owned by the mysterious Mr. Almond, who in 1892 leased the theatre to Mrs Adelaide Stoll and her son Oswald Stoll.  South Wales Daily News reported on 18th April, the reopening of Pavilion Music-hall, known as the ‘Empire’. It had undergone extensive alternation, improvements and had been re-decorated. The performance for the Easter period was Leoni Clarke and his troupe of 170 animals; Mr George Robey, comedian; Harran the American acrobat to name but a few. Oswald Stoll ran the theatre for 8 years, when in 1900 a new
Empire had been built in Oxford Street. Under their management they had acts including, George Wild Gavin aka Dan Leno, leading comedian and dame in panto-mimes Sir George Edward Wade aka George Robey, English comedian Harry Ralph aka Little Titch the 4-foot-6-inch English comedian and Matilda Alice Victoria Wood known as Marie Lloyd, music hall singer and comedian.
As the new century dawned, the theatre reverted to ‘The Palace Theatre of Varieties’, after Oswald Stoll took the name ‘Empire´ for his new theatre. By this time the theatre was only 12 years old, it was a difficult period, with acts performing at the new Empire theatre. The major player in the story of the Palace was William Coutts. He also had the management of the Star Theatre in Wind Street. With profits from this theatre, Coutts had brought the lease of the Palace Theatre in 1905. Coutts arranged acts for both places, so there wouldn’t be any clashes!
By 1912 the Palace was called Popular Picture Hall, all live shows ceased, and it was used as a cinema. The cinema lasted for a further decade, but the Palace hadn’t been designed for the purpose of a cinema. In 1923 the Palace once again reverted to The Palace Theatre of Varieties, by 1928 manage-ment had changed hands to Reeve & Russell Ltd. There were live performances and also the occasional film.
It’s during the Swansea Blitz, February 1941 where this Act will draw to a close when the Palace was used as a temporary morgue, for those Swansea civilians who lost their lives during that terrible period of February 1941.
Copyright - Bay Magazine, November 2019

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reader Feedback

Image
Following April’s article Per Ardua ad Astra , two readers have been in touch. Mary Johnstone contacted me via email regarding her father, Hubert John Lewis who served with the RAF Hubert was born in 1923 and was 16 at the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939. He was employed as an Apprentice Metallurgical Chemist and was living with his parents, Philip and Beatrice Lewis at 24 Elwy Crescent, Swansea. (Left) Herbert John Lewis (Right) With his crew and ground crew with kind permission Mary Johnstone Joining the RAF in 1942, 19 year old Hubert undertook his training at RAF Juby, in the Isle of Man. He joined the No 5 Bombing and Gunnery School where training was undertaken on the Handley Page Hereford aircraft. On completion of training, Air Gunner Sergeant Lewis was a Pilot Officer for a period of 6 months, which followed automatic promotion to Flying Officer. Hubert served with the 102 Squadron, based at RAF Pocklington, Yorkshire, which...
Read more

Tarmac and its Swansea Connection

Image
Just for Fun. Here are two starters for 10. Who is Rebecca and what’s the connection between Dylan Thomas and Wynford Vaughan-Thomas? Also, what is the connection between Swansea and Radcliffe Road in Nottingham? There’s a Brucie bonus if you know the answers before reading the article!  British roads cover more than 262,300 miles. The earliest roads were constructed by the Romans, when they invaded the UK, and were built primarily for military purposes. The majority of those roads have been lost, but a select few have been incorporated into the roads that we use today.  After the Romans, it was from the Middle Ages to the 17th century that new roads were constructed. In the 17th century, travellers paid tolls for the upkeep of the road; these were authorised by the Highways Act 1663. This Act was replaced by the Turnpike Trust in 1706, which originated from individual Acts of Parliaments. These allowed trusts to collect road tolls, with the profits from the tolls ...
Read more

Exploring Swansea's Graveyards

Image
This month I am looking at the fascinating history of churchyards, cemeteries and the symbols that can be found on headstones. Churchyards and cemeteries can be attractive yet unsettling places. The word cemetery derives from Greek, and means ‘ sleeping place’ . They can be a haven for wildlife and some will have romantic monuments in decay. Sometimes they can be places that evoke fear of our inevitable fate, and the reminder of our sad losses in the past. There is no typical churchyard – they differ according to denomination, region and date of origin. In this article I will cover some interesting gravestones to be found in and around  Swansea . Firstly, a brief history of the headstone, and when they made an appearance. Burials in churchyards were normally on the South side of the church, on either side of a path and near the nave and chancel walls. The north side of the church was considered unlucky and associated with the Devil. Churchyards vary in size from very small e...
Read more