The Odeon Cinema, Weston-super-Mare in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England, is an

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

cinema building, designed by

Thomas Cecil Howitt Thomas Cecil Howitt, OBE (6 June 1889 - 3 September 1968) was a British provincial architect of the 20th Century. Howitt is chiefly remembered for designing prominent public buildings, such as the Council House and Processional Way in Nottingh ...

. Still largely intact and retaining its originally installed

Compton organ John Compton (1876–1957), born in Newton Burgoland, Leicestershire was a pipe organ builder. His business based in Nottingham and London flourished between 1902 and 1965. Life John Compton was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham an ...

, it is a

Grade II listed building 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 ...

Background

After working in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

's city engineer's department, Howitt joined private architectural practice, where he was asked by

Odeon Cinemas Odeon, stylised as ODEON, is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Norway, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsidiary of AMC Theatres. It uses the famous name of ...

to design four new buildings for them, in Clacton,

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

, Warley and

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon ...

. All of the designs based around a common theme, incorporating: a square tower; squat main building; projecting slab roof, supported by columns. The Clacton and Warley buildings have since been demolished.

Exterior

In Weston, the tower is positioned at the corner of the site, above and behind the foyer. A curved canopy projects outwards from the slab tower, while the foyer is accessed from the street via four circular steps leading to five sets of double doors. Howitt used a second smaller tower to the left of the slab tower (when looking towards the building from Regent Street), with a large double-height metal framed window. There are two three storey high wings which enclosed the original single auditorium, allowing commercial revenue from shop units at street level and offices above. The Regent Street elevation comprises three bays with Crittall-style metal framed windows, while the Walliscote Road elevation comprises five bays. There was an additional canopy along both elevations, but these were later removed. The facade of the building is covered in biscuit-coloured

faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major ad ...

, except the shop areas on both wings which are clad in black glass

Vitrolite Pigmented structural glass, also known generically as structural glass and as vitreous marble, and marketed under the names Carrara glass, Sani Onyx, and Vitrolite, among others, is a high-strength, colored glass. Developed in the United States i ...

panels. The basket-weave pattern faience encompasses three horizontal bands of green faience. At night neon lighting placed in line with the green faience, around the 'Odeon' and along the edge of the canopies provided an a-typical Art Deco attractive feel to the building. The original ''Odeon'' lettering has been replaced, despite this occurring after the building was listed.

Interior

The original split-level auditorium was split into three smaller units in 1973, with a fourth screen added in 1991. Many of the original art deco features however survive, including the Compton organ.

Compton organ

Installed during the original fitting out of the building in 1935, the 3manual/6rank instrument is the only Compton theatre pipe organ in an Odeon cinema outside London, and one of only two working theatre organs left in the country still performing in their original location in commercially operating cinemas, the other being in the

Odeon Leicester Square The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square is a prominent cinema building in the West End of London. Built in the Art Deco style and completed in 1937, the building has been continually altered in response to developments in cinema technology, and was the ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The six ranks of pipes are: Tuba; Tibia Clausa; Vox Humana; Oboe; Flute; Cello. Although the organ does not have the common Compton feature of a Melotone, it does have a rare Solo Cello stop which involves a mechanical bow and pitching fingers, operated directly from the organ console. The organ today is preserved under the care of the West of England Theatre Organ Society, and occasional organ concerts continue to be held at the venue.

Present

The building was awarded Grade-II listed status on 21 August 1986.

References

External links

Odeon Cinema, Weston-super-MareWest of England Theatre Organ Society
{{coord, 51.3473, -2.9781, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1935 Buildings and structures in Weston-super-Mare Cinemas in Somerset Grade II listed buildings in North Somerset

Streamline Moderne architecture in the United Kingdom