The Empire Theatre (earlier the Queen's Theatre) was a theatre in

Longton Longton may refer to several places: * Longton, Kansas, United States * Longton, Lancashire, United Kingdom * Longton, Staffordshire, United Kingdom See also * Longtan (disambiguation) * Longtown (disambiguation) Longtown may refer to several plac ...

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

, England. It was later a cinema and a bingo hall; it was destroyed by fire in 1992.

History

The theatre was originally named the Queen's Theatre. The first theatre on the site in Commerce Street, Longton (coordinates ) was opened on 10 September 1888; it was a three-storey building of red sandstone. After extensive alterations in 1890 it seated 1800. It was destroyed by fire on 28 September 1893."Theatres and Halls in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire"
arthurlloyd.co.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2021."Empire Theatre"
''Theatres Trust''. Retrieved 9 January 2021. A new theatre, designed by

Frank Matcham Francis Matcham (22 November 1854 – 17 May 1920)Mackintosh, Iain"Matcham, Frank" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 7 July 2019 was an English architect who specialised in the design o ...

, was opened on 18 May 1896. It had a richly decorated interior, and seated 2500, in orchestra stalls, dress circle and balcony levels. From 1911 films were also being shown. In 1914 it was renamed the Empire Theatre."Empire Theatre"
''Cinema Treasures''. Retrieved 9 January 2021.

Cinema and bingo hall

It was converted for use as a cinema in 1921; it was subsequently used mostly as a cinema, and staged productions eventually ceased. It later became part of

ABC Cinemas ABC Cinemas (Associated British Cinemas) was a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. Originally a wholly owned subsidiary of Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), it operated between the 1930s and the 1980s. The brand name was reused in ...

. It closed as a cinema in 1966 and was converted into a

bingo hall Bingo is a game of probability in which players mark off numbers on cards as the numbers are drawn randomly by a caller, the winner being the first person to mark off all their numbers. Bingo, also previously known in the UK as Housey-Housey, ...

: as the Alpha Bingo Club, later the Tudor Bingo Club; it was later operated by Gala Bingo Clubs. The building was given

listed status In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, Grade II. In 1991 it closed. A fire, thought to be arson, destroyed most of the building on 31 December 1992. The façade survived, and rebuilding was considered; but it was eventually demolished in 1997. The Stoke-on-Trent Repertory Theatre Players, who were within a few days of completing the purchase of the building for their new theatre when it burned down, later built the Stoke-on-Trent Repertory Theatre."Repertory"
''Theatres Trust''. Retrieved 9 January 2021.

References

{{Reflist

External links

"Part of the auditorium of the Empire Theatre in use as a bingo hall, showing the false ceiling and elaborate plasterwork on the circle"
at ''

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

'' Former theatres in England Theatres completed in 1896 1992 disestablishments in England Demolished theatres in the United Kingdom Former cinemas in England History of Stoke-on-Trent