The Embassy Theatre is a historic structure on Broadway in the city of

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, which operated as a cinema from 1953 to 1989.

History

The Embassy Theatre was designed by David Evelyn Nye in the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

style and built by The Demolition & Construction Co. of

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

using the locally produced

Fletton brick The London Brick Company, owned by Forterra plc, is a leading British manufacturer of bricks. History The London Brick Company owes its origins to John Cathles Hill, a developer-architect who built houses in London and Peterborough. In 1889, ...

s. It opened in 1937, putting on performances by well-known performers such as

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

performed at the theatre in December 1962 and March 1963. Their 1962 performance was not well received by the crowds but their 1963 performance was much more successful. They were due to play in the theatre on the 10 February 1963 but could not attend as they were traveling to

EMI Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music compan ...

(later renamed Abbey Road Studios) to record the bulk of their first album the next day. They were replaced by

Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers were a British instrumental rock group in the early 1960s. Their biggest hit, "Can Can 62" reached the British singles chart in 1962. The group toured with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones before disbanding in 1966 ...

for the performance. Their performances were honoured with a mural in 2025. Nye was usually a cinema architect, and this was his only theatre. However, the building was converted into a cinema in 1953, later becoming the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

and finally Cannon Cinema. It tripled in size in 1981, before finally closing in 1989.50th Anniversary 1937–1987 Souvenir Brochure
Cannon Cinema, Peterborough, 1987. Since 1996, part of the premises have been occupied by the Edwards bar chain.

References

{{coord, 52.57533, N, 0.24120, W, region:GB-BKM_type:landmark, display=title Art Deco architecture in England Buildings and structures in Peterborough Theatres completed in 1937 1937 establishments in the United Kingdom