The Pavilion Theatre is located on

Cromer Pier Cromer Pier is a Grade II listed seaside pier in the civil parish of Cromer on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk, due north of the city of Norwich in the United Kingdom. The pier is the home of the Cromer Lifeboat Station and ...

Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the North Norfolk district of the county of Norfolk, England. It is north of Norwich, northwest of North Walsham and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. Originally a bandstand when the pier opened, it was converted into an enclosed pavilion in 1905.

History

The pier as it is known today was opened in 1901. To celebrate its official opening The Blue Viennese Band played in an open

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an ornamen ...

. In 1905 the bandstand was covered to form an enclosed

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings; * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

and the following season the first ‘concert parties’ were performed. Throughout the 20s and 30s the Cromer Protection Commission toured the South Coast looking at potential shows. In 1936 one of the theatres most famous shows appeared-Ronnie Brandons ''Out of the Blue''. At the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

removed the middle section of the pier and shows ceased for the rest of the war. The devastating gales of 1953 damaged the pier and the pavilion. Compensation was granted by the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

for the repair of the pier and the theatre was ready for the start of the 1955 season. In 1978 changes were made to the theatre and at the same time a partnership with Irish

Impresario An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...

Richard Condon Richard Thomas Condon (March 18, 1915 – April 9, 1996) was an American political novelist. Though his works were satire, they were generally transformed into thrillers or semi-thrillers in other media, such as cinema. All 26 books were writte ...

. From this partnership the popular ''Seaside Special'' was created which won the

National Piers Society The National Piers Society (NPS) is a registered charity in the United Kingdom dedicated to promoting and sustaining interest in the preservation and continued enjoyment of seaside piers. It was founded in 1979, with Sir John Betjeman as the fi ...

''Pier of the Year Award'' 2000. The pier was once again severely damaged in November 1993 by a break away rig

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

.Eastern Daily Press feature
Retrieved January 9, 2008 In 2001 a new partnership was formed between North Norfolk District Council and Openwide International to extend the season and increase economic growth for the pier and the town. By 2004 the theatre was redeveloped to include; increasing the capacity to 510, adding a restaurant named ''Tides'', a new shop ''Footprints'' and a new extended bar. In 2005 ''Christmas Seaside Special'' was introduced and proved popular. Over the years many well-known artists have appeared at the Pavilion Theatre including

Ken Dodd Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English stand-up comedy, comedian, actor and singer. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer" and was primarily known for his live stand-up comedy, stand-up pe ...

; Cannon and Ball; Joe Brown,

The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas–Indian wars, and stars John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War v ...

;

Jimmy Tarbuck James Joseph Tarbuck (born 6 February 1940) is an English comedian, singer, actor, entertainer and game show host. Tarbuck was a host of '' Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' in the mid-1960s and hosted numerous game shows and quiz shows on ...

;

Paul Daniels Newton Edward Daniels (6 April 1938 – 17 March 2016), known professionally as Paul Daniels, was an English magician and television presenter. He achieved international fame through his television series '' The Paul Daniels Magic Show'', whic ...

; The Barron Knights;

Marty Wilde Marty Wilde, (born Reginald Leonard Smith; 15 April 1939) is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, scoring several 1950s and 1960s hit singles including " E ...

;

Vince Hill Vincent Brian Hill (16 April 1934 – 22 July 2023) was an English traditional pop singer, best known for his cover version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein show tune " Edelweiss" (1967), which reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. He record ...

;

Max Bygraves Walter William "Max" Bygraves (16 October 1922 – 31 August 2012) was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs. He made twenty ''Roya ...

;

Val Doonican Michael Valentine 'Val' Doonican (3 February 1927 – 1 July 2015) was an Irish singer of traditional pop, easy listening and novelty songs, noted for his warm and relaxed vocal style. A crooner, he found popular success, especially in t ...

;

Raymond Froggatt Raymond William Froggatt (13 November 1941 – 23 July 2023) was an English songwriter and singer.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Country Music'', Virgin Books, , p. 159-160 Biography Froggatt (otherwise known as "Froggy") was ...

. Cromer pier is featured in the film '' Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa''.

History

References

Further reading