The former Granada Cinema, also known as the Ebenezer Building or Cathedral of Christ Faith Tabernacle, in

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...

, South East London, was built as a large and luxurious cinema in the 1930s. It had a seating capacity of nearly 2500 and is now being used as a church hall. The building with its extravagantly decorated interior 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 Ir ...

History

In the early 20th century, Woolwich was a thriving industrial and military town. In the mid-1930s there were several smaller movie theatres operating in Woolwich, when two leading companies in the business, Sidney Bernstein's Granada and

Oscar Deutsch Oscar Deutsch (12 August 1893 – 5 December 1941)Allen Eyles, ‘Deutsch, Oscar (1893–1941)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200accessed 29 April 2011/ref> was a British-Hungarian businessman. He was the fou ...

's Odeon, decided more or less simultaneously to establish large cinemas in the town. The first of the two to open in 1937 was the Granada Cinema; the Odeon opened four months later, just across the road.Saint & Guillery, pp. 74–76
online text
. Granada by this time had a track record for building Britain's most glamorous cinemas. In Woolwich however, Cecil Masey (1881–1960) and

Reginald Uren Reginald Harold Uren FRIBA (5 March 1906 – 17 February 1988) was a New Zealand-born architect who worked in the United Kingdom for most of his career. Life and work Uren was born in the Belfast area of Christchurch, South Island on 5 March ...

(1903–1988) built an outwardly rather severe theatre, but with a lavish interior by Russian-born designer

Theodore Komisarjevsky Fyodor Fyodorovich Komissarzhevsky (russian: Фёдор Фёдорович Комиссаржевский; 23 May 1882 – 17 April 1954), or Theodore Komisarjevsky, was a Russian, later British, theatrical director and designer. He began his car ...

(1882–1954). The builders, Bovis Ltd, started work in 1936 after the west end of

Powis Street Powis Street is a partly pedestrianised shopping street in Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, south east London, England. It was laid out in the late 18th century and was named after the Powis brothers, who developed most of the land i ...

had been widened. It opened on 20 April 1937 with ''

Good Morning, Boys ''Good Morning, Boys!'' is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and featuring Will Hay, Graham Moffatt, Martita Hunt, Lilli Palmer and Peter Gawthorne. It was made at the Gainsborough Studios in Islington. The film marked the fi ...

'' and '' Lady Be Careful''. Special guests at the opening ceremony were American actress

Glenda Farrell Glenda Farrell (June 30, 1904 – May 1, 1971) was an American actress. Farrell personified the smart and sassy, wisecracking blonde of the Classical Hollywood films. Farrell's career spanned more than 50 years, appearing in numerous Broadwa ...

and British comic actor

Claude Hulbert Claude Noel Hulbert (25 December 1900 – 23 January 1964) was a mid-20th century English stage, radio and cinema comic actor. Early life Claude Hulbert was born in Fulham in West London on Christmas Day 1900. He was the younger brother of J ...

.Powell (2013)
/ref> Initially the Granada Cinema mainly showed ABC or Gaumont films but after ABC built their own Regal Cinema in Woolwich in 1955, the Granada was left to play Gaumont and independent releases. The theatre regularly played host to

Christmas pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

s and musical acts like Buddy Holly in 1958 and Roy Orbison with

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

in their famous 1963 tour. Woolwich Granada Cinema

By the early 1960s the cinema was already in decline. On weekdays it was used for playing

bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** Bi ...

and in 1966 it became a full-time bingo hall. The bingo hall was first operated by Granada and from 1991 until 2011 by

Gala Gala may refer to: Music * ''Gala'' (album), a 1990 album by the English alternative rock band Lush *'' Gala – The Collection'', a 2016 album by Sarah Brightman *GALA Choruses, an association of LGBT choral groups *''Gala'', a 1986 album by T ...

. The large

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

theatre organ A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or, especially in the United Kingdom, a cinema organ) is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films, from the 1900s to the 1920s. Theatre organs have horseshoe-shaped arrangements ...

, which had been played by Reginald Dixon, was removed in 1996 and sold to the village hall in

Tywyn Tywyn (Welsh: ; in English often ), formerly spelled Towyn, is a town, community, and seaside resort on the Cardigan Bay coast of southern Gwynedd, Wales. It was previously in the historic county of Merionethshire. It is famous as the lo ...

, Wales. In 2011 the building was bought by Christ Faith Tabernacle Churches, a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

church founded in 1989 by the Nigerian preacher Alfred Williams. Where possible, the interior has been restored meticulously, new doors were made by the same company that made them in 1937, light fittings were commissioned to match the original lights, and new carpets match the 1930s design. The building, now known as the "Ebenezer Building" or "Cathedral" of Christ Faith Tabernacle, has been 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 Ir ...

since 1973. Since 2000 its status was upgraded to

Grade II* 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 ...

The building

Exterior

The first designs of the Woolwich Granada by Masey had the appearance of a classical movie theatre. After Uren was appointed as co-architect the design became much more

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

and rather Dudok-like. The layout on the awkward plot of land on the junction of Powis Street and Woolwich High Street resulted in what are essentially two joined buildings. The main hall is a brown brick block along Woolwich High Street, for which Masey had intended a relief with the name of the cinema. This part was originally hidden by another building. The elegantly curved asymmetrical front on Powis Street houses the vestibule with the former box office and the foyers, previously with a café-restaurant. Above the main entrance are five tall windows under a

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an ...

and five more narrow windows above the canopy. To the right are five windows in a concrete frame that form a horizontal bar. The advertising tower originally had a full-height appendage that was neon-lit at night. At the top, an open area under a flat roof originally formed part of the illumination. File:North Face of the Granada Cinema, Woolwich.jpg, Woolwich High Street façade File:Christ Faith Tabernacle Cathedral7.jpg, Woolwich High Street façade File:West Face of the Granada Cinema, Woolwich (02).jpg, Powis Street façade File:West Face of the Granada Cinema, Woolwich (01).jpg, Main entrance File:West Face of the Granada Cinema, Woolwich (04).jpg, Advertising tower

Interior

The Gothic-inspired interior makes a strong contrast with the modern exterior. Together with the Tooting Granada interior, it belongs to the most elaborate purpose-built cinemas in the UK. It has been described as "reproducing the style and ambiance of a cathedral, a combination and distillation of Venetian Renaissance and Spanish Gothic, with distinct echoes of the Doge's Palace and the cathedral of Burgos". At the time, the ''Architect & Building News'' wrote that it had "a complexity and lavish exuberance rare even in cinema decoration".''Architect & Building News'', 30 April 1937, p. 135 The opening brochure called it "the most romantic theatre ever built". The seating capacity in 1937 was 2434. After closing as a cinema, the building was used as a

hall and a church, but the interior has been largely preserved. The main stalls and balcony seating, which was removed in the 1960s, was replaced in 2013. Five sets of entrance doors lead into the vestibule, decorated with

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s. Three sets of doors with wrought-iron bars and cast-iron handles lead into the double-height

foyer A lobby is a room in a building used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer, reception area or an entrance hall, it is often a large room or complex of rooms (in a theatre, opera house, concert hall, showroom, cinema, etc. ...

with galleries on three sides. The foyer has a

coffered ceiling A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, als ...

, a large central chandelier, four smaller ones and six pairs of wall lights, all in Gothic style. On the far side, a

grand staircase The Grand Staircase is an immense sequence of sedimentary rock layers that stretch south from Bryce Canyon National Park and Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, through Zion National Park, and into Grand Canyon National Park. Ch ...

leads to the galleries and the balcony seating area. The back wall is entirely panelled with gilded frames with rounded and pointed arches. The four outer bays are decorated with figures painted in

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

style, probably by Vladmir Polunin (1880–1957). The auditorium is also in a style partly based on Medieval and Renaissance architecture. It has elaborate coffered ceilings in red and green and five large chandeliers. The imposing ante- proscenium is divided into three sections, separated by pilasters. The central feature is a monumental Romanesque style arch with

jamb A jamb (from French ''jambe'', "leg"), in architecture, is the side-post or lining of a doorway or other aperture. The jambs of a window outside the frame are called “reveals.” Small shafts to doors and windows with caps and bases are known ...

s made up of seven columns and a tympanum extending up into a pointed gable. The upper stages of the ante-proscenium are made up of Gothic gables and rows of niches and

trefoil A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with four ring ...

s. Some panels are painted with representations of lions and unicorns (possibly also by Polunin). The balcony foyer ("Hall of Mirrors") features trefoil-arched mirrors and mirror-faced pilasters on both sides of the elongated space. It has a pitched ceiling with fabric-like decorations in white, red and gold, and a row of French "teardrop" chandeliers. The balcony is reached through entrances with Gothic panelling, and on the other side, by two vomitories. File:2015 London-Woolwich, interior former Granada Cinema36.jpg, Detail grand staircase File:2015 London-Woolwich, interior former Granada Cinema18.jpg, Hall of Mirrors File:2015 London-Woolwich, interior former Granada Cinema11.jpg, Main hall File:2015 London-Woolwich, interior former Granada Cinema10.jpg, Detail main hall

References

Bibliography

* , ''The Granada Theatres'', Cinema Theatre Association, 1998 * , 'Woolwich Granada: “The most romantic theatre ever built”', article on ''www.greenwich.co.uk'', 20 October 2013
online text
* , ''The Age of the Dream Palace: Cinema and Society in 1930s Britain'', Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1984
online text
* , ''Woolwich – Survey of London, Volume 48'', Yale Books, London, 2012
online text Chapter 1

'Listed building 1212651'
on website ''historicengland.org.uk''

External links

{{Commons category, Granada Cinema, Woolwich

Website about the Tywyn Wurlitzer, the Granada Woolwich theatre organ

Website Christ Faith Tabernacle Churches
1937 establishments in England Buildings and structures completed in 1937 Former cinemas in London Cecil Massey buildings Grade II* listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Woolwich Granada Theatres