Wembley’s Majestic Cinema – Part 2

Part 2 of Local History Post by Tony Royden and Philip Grant:

1.The Exterior of the Majestic Cinema, just before its opening, in original black & white and colourised.
(“Kinematograph Weekly”, 17 January 1929 – original image courtesy of the British Library)

 

Welcome back to the second part of the Majestic Cinema’s story. If you missed Part 1, you can find it HERE. In this article, some of the original black and white photographs have been colourised, using AI, to help show the splendour of this ‘super cinema’.

 

By December 1928, the builder’s hoardings had been removed and Wembley’s new super cinema was in full resplendent view. Passers-by would stop in awe at the new “majestic” building: The architects, Field and Stewart, had erected a handsome frontage constructed of Luton grey facing bricks and Atlas white stone dressings. At the heart of the structure, rising elegantly to the top of the building, was a gleaming copper dome, held aloft by a drum of Atlas stone columns, inset with stylish bay windows. Extended over the main entrance was a striking bronze canopy, shining warmly under carefully crafted lighting. At sunset, the entire façade could be seen bathed in floodlights. The intricate frieze, the sweeping cornice and decorative pillars were highlighted by a subtle, yet dazzling light effect – it was a sight to behold.

 

On 14 December the “Wembley News” carried a half-page advertisement, announcing: ‘In a few weeks’ time the Wembley Majestic will be opened, and the public will be able to visit this veritable Wonder Cinema, where they will be provided with absolutely the most up-to-date and best that can be offered in the world of entertainment.’

 

2.From a full-page advertisement in the “Wembley News”, 11 January 1929.
(Brent Archives – local newspaper microfilms)

 

Four weeks later, on the morning of the Majestic’s grand opening, a full-page advertisement appeared in the Wembley News, which carried the headline ‘A Real Cinema for Wembley at last’. We can only speculate what the owners of the existing Wembley Hall Cinema, and the Elite Cinema (located in the former British Empire Exhibition Conference Hall in Raglan Gardens - now Empire Way – which had only opened in March 1928), thought about that headline! But they would soon have a chance to find out how popular their new competitor was.

 

What happened regarding the cinema chain which had plans to open own their ‘super cinema’ directly across the road from the Majestic? We know planning permission was granted and bricks were delivered onsite to start construction ... but they were simply too slow. The Majestic’s lightning pace from conception to completion, in just 12 months, won the race and it’s safe to assume that the cinema chain must have got cold feet and abandoned their plans. The derelict land where they had intended to build (at the corner of the High Road and Park Lane) went on to become high street shops, with a bank on the corner itself.

 

The Majestic’s opening night, on Friday 11 January 1929, was by invitation only, but enough invitations had been sent out to fill its 2,000 seats. The guest of honour was Isodore Salmon, the Conservative M.P. for the Harrow Division of Middlesex (which included Wembley), who was also Managing Director of his family’s catering business, J. Lyons & Co. He and his wife sat alongside another leading local figure, Titus Barham, accompanied by his wife, Florence. Other invitees included all the members of Wembley Urban District Council and many of the local clergy.

 

3.Photo of Mrs R.H. Powis from the 18 January 1929 “Wembley News” supplement. (Brent Archives)

 

After the playing of the National Anthem, the lights lowered and the evening’s programme commenced with a showing of a pre-recorded film. Appearing on screen was Mrs R.H. Powis (wife of the Chairman) arriving by car outside the Majestic, where she was presented with a key to unlock the ornamental bronze doors. On entering, the film cut to inside the auditorium and to Mrs Powis on stage, declaring the Majestic Cinema open. At that moment, the screen went up, the stage lights came on and there was Mrs Powis in person to finish her opening address (wearing the same attire that she had worn in the film). This was met by rapturous applause from the audience who marvelled at this piece of technical showmanship – and it may have been enjoyed even more than anticipated as the film had, perhaps by accident, been shown at double speed, so that it resembled a slapstick comedy!

 

 

4.Mr and Mrs Powis and the stage party at the opening of the Majestic Cinema, 11 January 1929.
(From the “Wembley News” supplement, 18 January 1929, at Brent Archives)

 

With the audience in the palm of her hand, Mrs Powis spoke enthusiastically about the immense local support there had been for the Majestic Cinema project and what an honour it had been for her personally to have opened it. She invited the audience to absorb the splendour of the surroundings, expressing that it was a building they could be proud of. She hoped the residents of Wembley would appreciate all that had been done for them, and trusted that they too would come and patronise the theatre when the doors opened to the public.

 

Mrs Powis then introduced her husband (Chairman of the Majestic Cinema) who delivered a much longer speech. He started by praising the enterprise of his ten fellow directors (also present on stage) who had been willing to risk their money in this local cinema venture. The building, of which they were immensely proud, had cost around £100,000 (approximately £5.5million in today’s money), and no expense had been spared in its making (although, by way of contradiction, he said that he ‘had to be the drag to prevent them from spending too much money’). Also appearing on stage were the two local architects, Messrs Field and Stewart, happy to take a bow when introduced, for they had designed a building which truly did live up to the ‘Majestic’ name. Mr Powis then praised the builders, W.E. Greenwood and Son, who had worked tirelessly, and had engaged seventy-five percent of the labour locally. The beautiful scheme of decoration throughout the auditorium, which engulfed the audience, was Mr Greenwood’s concept, with the work carried out to his designs.

 

5.Two views of the Majestic Cinema’s interior designs, one of which has been colourised.
(From the “Wembley News” supplement, 18 January 1929)

 

6.Another colourised view of the cinema’s interior designs.
(“Kinematograph Weekly supplement”, 2 May1929 – original image courtesy of the British Library)

 

In an article published in the “Kinematograph Weekly” on 17 January 1929, there was lavish praise for Mr Greenwood’s ‘unique’ and ‘beautiful decorative scheme’. The décor was described as being ‘upon atmospheric lines’ and ‘in the Italian renaissance style’. It continued by saying: ‘The patron looks out onto a beautiful Italian garden. The rich colour-scheme employed is at once restful and pleasing to the eye. The views of mountains, trees and temples on the side walls are in relief, and their application is remarkable for the sense of real depth conveyed to the patron. The various effects achieved by Mr. Greenwood called for much ingenuity and imagination. The whole of the ceiling is made to represent an Italian sky, and is unbroken by ventilating grids or lighting fixtures.’ The Majestic was hailed as being 'the most satisfactory form of the "atmospheric" type of picture theatre yet erected in England. '

 

7.Colourised view of the Majestic’s auditorium, as viewed from the stage.
(“Kinematograph Weekly”, 17 January 1929 – original image courtesy of the British Library)

 

Most of the auditorium’s lighting was provided from the front of the balcony, as described in “The Bioscope”, 12th June 1929: ‘The floodlights employed were concealed under the auditorium balcony. The front of the balcony was divided into 16 different sections, each section being glazed with specially diffusing glass panels.’ A remarkable feature of the lighting was that there were no notable shadows.

  

Another innovative design was used for ventilation: ‘Air is introduced into the building by a series of louvres, which are practically invisible behind decorative features which harmonise with the surroundings, and is extracted through thousands of minute holes in the barrel roof, which are also invisible.’ The painted plasterwork bushes of the Italian garden theme also hid the grilles through which music from the cinema’s John Compton Kinestra organ was played.

 

8.A 1929 advertisement for the John Compton Kinestra organ. (Image from the internet)

 

As part of the opening night’s entertainment, the audience were treated to an organ recital, “In a Monastery Garden”, played by Mr Davies on a Kinestra organ like the one pictured above. There were also performances by a number of variety acts including; The Six Ninette Girls, The Plaza Boys, Jade Winton and The Famous Australs – all backed by the wonderful music of the Majestic orchestra, conducted by J. Samehtini. After a showing of a current newsreel, the evening concluded with a screening of the 1928 British-made detective film, “Mademoiselle Parley Voo”.  The opening ceremony was declared a huge success by all who attended.

 

So what did the Majestic have to offer? From the early days of its conception, the Chairman and his fellow directors wanted to be able to bring live West End performances to Wembley (along with the latest film releases) and they were now set to accommodate the grandest of stage productions. The Majestic was built with a 50-foot-wide fully equipped stage, twelve dressing rooms for the artistes (six on either side of the stage – female on one side, male on the other), a musical director's room, a boardroom and an orchestra pit in front of the stage.

 

9.The original Ground Floor plan for the Majestic Cinema. (Brent Archives – Wembley plans microfilm 3474)

 

In the original planning application, the floor plans show the main auditorium was to have 1192 seats, with a further 432 seats located in the “Grand Tier” (or balcony) making a total of 1624 – but with subsequent applications, this was increased to near 2000, making it substantially larger than many West End theatres. The whole of the seating and furnishing had been carried out by Maples & Co, a long-established and successful company, expert in cinema work. The seats were comfortable and every seat gave a perfect view of the stage and screen.

 

The High Road entrance to the Majestic led to an octagonal lobby that was known as a “Crush Hall”. This had an imposing dome above it (not to be confused with the roof dome visible from the outside), which was expertly painted with light, airy clouds and cleverly illuminated by concealed lights. The hall included a pay-box, chocolate kiosk and a side-entrance to a 120-seat café (with the café’s main entrance from the High Road). The hall extended into a large foyer where two ‘handsome staircases leading to the balcony’ could be found, along with the entrance into the auditorium.

 

10.The Majestic Cinema’s café.
(“Kinematograph Weekly”, 17 January 1929 – image courtesy of the British Library)

 

 

On the first floor, above the café and shops, was the Majestic Ballroom: Measuring 107 ft. long and 30 ft. wide, it could comfortably accommodate 500 dancers. In an article published in the “Kinematograph Weekly” on 17 January 1929, the ballroom was praised for being ‘one of the finest apartments of its kind in the provinces’. Its decorative treatment was carried out on classical lines and its comfortable ‘"Pollodium" cane furniture was manufactured by Edward Light & Company Ltd. The ballroom was self-contained, with its own lounge, retiring room and dressing rooms.

 

11.A colourised view of the Majestic Cinema’s ballroom.
(“Kinematograph Weekly”, 17 January 1929 – original image courtesy of the British Library)

 

As well as having all the amenities of a classic movie theatre, the Majestic also had a second floor, known as the “Mezzanine Floor”, where a luxurious lounge could be found – directly under the roof's dome. Natural light would have permeated from the circle of bay windows beneath the dome and we can only imagine how spectacular the views must have been (especially as Wembley was not as built-up an area at that time, and there would still be some open fields and countryside to observe).

 

At the end of the opening night’s extravaganza, around one thousand of the cinema’s guests, who had remained until the entertainment programme finished at 11pm, were invited to a reception in the ballroom. They were treated to a banquet of food and drink, and there was dancing to the music of Mr Samehtini’s cinema orchestra. An exhibition was also given of “Modern Ballroom Dancing” (as described in his 1927 book of that name by Victor Silvester, whose father, the Vicar of St John the Evangelist Church at the other end of the High Road, had been a guest that evening). The celebration of the Majestic’s first night went on until 1am on the Saturday morning.

 

Wembley’s Majestic Cinema had opened, but would it be a success, and why can’t we see it now in the High Road? To find out the answers, join us next weekend for the final part of our story!

 

Tony Royden and Philip Grant.

Victor Silvester – Strictly from Wembley

This is the last local history post for a while from Philip Grant. I would like to thank him for what I know many readers have found to be a fascinating series of articles. It has involved a huge amount of meticulous research carried out during lockdown. I am very grateful for his and other authors' contributions to Wembley Matters. Thank you.

Martin Francis (Editor)

 

This is the time of year when many people look forward to watching “Strictly Come Dancing” on a Saturday evening. But “Strictly” may never have happened if it were not for a man born in Wembley!

 

1. St John's Church and its noticeboard, when Rev. Silvester was its Vicar. (Brent Archives 1197 and 9523)

 

 

In 1895 John William Potts Silvester, a recently ordained Church of England priest, arrived in Wembley to serve as a curate at St John the Evangelist Church. Because of the ill health of the vicar he came to assist, Silvester became the parish priest a year later, a post he held until 1944. He and his young wife Kate, from Lancashire like her husband, moved into the vicarage in Crawford Avenue, and she was to bear him successively two sons and then four daughters. 

 

 

 

 

2. A postcard of St John's Vicarage, first half of the 20th century. (Brent Archives online image 10605)

 

 

The eldest son rejoiced in the name of Temple St John Hudson Silvester, being named after the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Frederick Temple, St John’s Church and his mother’s maiden name! Their second son was born in the vicarage on 25 February 1900, and was named Victor. This was probably because of a “victory”, the relief of Kimberley during Britain’s war with the South African Boers, which had been reported in “The Times” the previous day. Victor’s middle name was Marlborough, after another bishop.

 

 

With all this C of E background, you might think that the Silvester boys were destined for a career in the Church. But Temple served as an officer in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War, then went on to qualify as a doctor; and Victor, well ,,,!

 

 

 

3. Ardingly College, in West Sussex (designed by a Victorian church architect?). (Image from the internet)

 

 

I don’t have details of his early education, apart from that he had private piano lessons at home. When he was old enough, Victor was sent away to school, originally at Ardingly College in Sussex, a school with strong Anglican associations, from which he ran away. He was then sent to St John's School at Leatherhead, established in 1851 for the sons of Anglican clergy, and he ran away again. Finally, his father realised that a boarding school did not suit Victor, and he was sent as a day boy to John Lyon School in Harrow.

 

 

Victor “escaped” from school again during the First World War. Although not yet fifteen, he was tall and was able to persuade a recruiting sergeant (how much persuasion did he need?) that he was of military age.  Apparently, he joined the London Scottish, a Territorial regiment at the end 1914, serving for sixteen months.  After that he enlisted in the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, adding four years to his age, presumably to account for his previous service while pretending to be of military age. However, he was discharged a week later, perhaps at his father's request, on the grounds that he was still under-age. 

 

 

4. Young Victor in his Highlanders army uniform, and a WW1 Red Cross ambulance. (From the internet)

 

 

He then joined the Red Cross First Aid Service and served with them in France from October 1916 to June 1917, thereby becoming entitled to the British War Medal and Victory Medal. Victor was next transferred to the First British Ambulance Unit in Italy, and was awarded the Italian bronze medal for military valour for his part in the evacuation of San Gabriele, during which he was wounded. In early 1918, he re-enlisted in the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, having finally reached military age. 

 

 

Towards the end of his life, Victor Silvester claimed that he was forced to witness, or even take part in, one or more executions of British soldiers by firing squad. He had not mentioned British executions years earlier in his autobiography, although he did refer to witnessing summary executions by the Italians of their deserters. Perhaps he had a false memory of events, based on this, but it is conceivable that the claims were suppressed by his publisher. After all, in those days, the fact of the executions was largely hushed up - it was only in 1998 that a list of death sentences and executions (some 10% of the sentences pronounced) was published.

 

 

As Victor was under nineteen at the time of the Armistice he did not serve abroad with the Argylls. It seems that he was considered for a commission, and spent time at Worcester College, Oxford, undergoing officer training. At the end of the war Victor was nominated for a place at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. His father, who had himself spent the war in uniform as a temporary Chaplain to the Forces, must have been relieved that his wayward son had at last found some sense of direction, but he was soon to receive a rude shock. 

 

 

At a tea dance, while waiting for his call-up to Sandhurst, Victor was offered work 'partnering unattached ladies' and after two weeks of tuition he took this up. He did go to the Royal Military College, but following a familiar pattern, he left after just three weeks. This was partly because he felt his previous experience in the army was being ignored or belittled, but perhaps the unattached ladies also had a certain allure. 

 

 

5. Victor Silvester ballroom dancing with his wife, Dorothy, c.1930. (Frontispiece “Modern Ballroom Dancing”)

 

By 1922, Victor Silvester was a full-time professional ballroom dancer, and practicing with his partner, Phyllis Clarke, for the first World Ballroom Dancing Championships, which they won. At the Empress Rooms, he met Dorothy Newton, then in the chorus of a musical at the London Palladium, and they were married in December that year. While his mother, brother and sister Gwendolyn came to the wedding at St Stephen’s Church, Gloucester Road, Victor’s father did not attend. Was this because the staid Victorian clergyman regarded his son as little better than a gigolo? (If you don’t know the meaning of that word, look it up in a dictionary!) Or perhaps he was too busy, both as Wembley’s Vicar, and a member of its Urban District Council (from 1911 to 1926, and its Chairman in 1921/22).

 

6. Rev. J.W.P. Silvester at the door of St John's Vicarage, 1925. (Brent Archives online image 9258)

 

 

In 1923, Victor opened his first dancing academy, in partnership with his wife. As a leading exponent, he was also involved in drawing up the rules used for ballroom dancing competitions, and went on to write books on the subject. His “Modern Ballroom Dancing”, first published in 1927, quickly became the “bible” on the subject. Victor regularly updated the book in his lifetime, and it is still in print today after more than sixty editions, the most recent in 2005, when a certain TV programme renewed public interest in ballroom dancing.

 

 

 

7. A selection of "Modern Ballroom Dancing" book covers, from 1939 to 2005. (Images from the internet)

 

 

Beginning with the history of ballroom dancing and why it is such an enjoyable activity, the book describes the basics of how to hold your partner and move during a dance, before going into detailed instructions for each type of dance. Some of the instructions (these are from the 1942 edition) would certainly raise eyebrows, if not hackles, today.

 

 

Extract from “The Gentleman’s Hold”: ‘Steer and control your partner with your body and right hand – not with your left. The left hand is held up for balancing purposes and appearance, not for leading your partner with.’

Extract from “The Lady’s Hold”: ‘Never attempt in any way to lead or guide your partner, submit yourself entirely to him. Do not lean on him or anticipate what is coming next, just follow.’

 

 

8. Photographs showing the correct "Hold" and "Balance". (From “Modern Ballroom Dancing”, 1942 edition)

 

 

Every different type of ballroom dance, be it waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, tango etc., is covered, with diagrams to show the steps for the gentleman and the lady for every move used in the dance. For five shillings, you could buy the book, and teach yourself the dance movements at home. The only extra thing you would need was the music.

 

 

9. Steps diagram for “the Natural Turn” in the Waltz. (From “Modern Ballroom Dancing”, 1942 edition)

 

 

Victor became concerned that the strict tempo, or number of beats per minute, necessary for the dances to be performed properly, was often absent in the way that dance music was played. His answer, in 1935, was to form his own Ballroom Orchestra, which was soon playing at live ballroom dancing events, and from 1937 on the wireless. Before long, he also had a recording contract, which saw dozens of records available, which people could play on their gramophones to dance to.

 

10. The label from a Victor Silvester gramophone record, and advert for more of these. (From the internet)

 

 

Although many of the tunes they played were from songs, unlike some other dance bands Victor’s never used a vocalist. He felt that dancers should be allowed to concentrate on the music – strict tempo was the key to the dance. If you would like to experience the sound of Victor Silvester and his Ballroom Orchestra, you can do so here:

 

 

 

 

 

11. Victor conducting his orchestra, and playing at a ballroom in the 1950s. (Images from the internet)

 

When I was a child in the 1950s, our bakelite radio set was usually tuned to the BBC Light Programme, and Victor Silvester was a popular broadcaster. Decades later, I still carry his signature tune in my head, along with the catchphrase ‘slow, slow, quick quick, slow’! He also had his own BBC television show, “Dancing Club”, which ran through much of the 1950s and 60s, as well as continuing to produce numerous records of dance music. He was the subject of a “This is Your Life” TV programme in 1957, and was awarded the OBE, for services to ballroom dancing, in 1961.

 

 

12. Victor on "This is Your Life", and with wife Dorothy after hearing of his OBE award. (From the internet)

 

 

By then, he had twenty-three dance studios, run by instructors he had trained, across the country. One of these was in the ballroom at the Majestic Cinema in Wembley High Road, where he sometimes conducted his orchestra. The Majestic, later an Odeon cinema, closed in 1962, and was demolished to make way for a C&A Modes fashion store (now Wilkinsons).

 

 

13. The Majestic Cinema, with Victor Silvester dance school, Wembley High Road, 1961. (W.H.S. collection)

 

 

Cruelly for a dancer, his wife Dorothy had a leg amputated in later life. Victor himself died of a heart attack in August 1978, after swimming while they were on holiday in the south of France. 

 

14. Three of the many LP record covers of Victor's Strict Tempo dance music. (Images from the internet)

 

 

During Victor’s lifetime, over 75 million of his dance music records were sold, with more on compilation LPs since then, and all of them played in strict tempo. Dancing in strict tempo, to strict rules, was a key theme of Baz Luhrmann’s 1992 Australian film “Strictly Ballroom”. 

 

 

15. A "Strictly Ballroom" film poster, and the logo for BBC's “Strictly Come Dancing”. (From the internet)

 

 

BBC television had a long-running ballroom dancing programme called “Come Dancing”, at various times from 1949 through to the 1990s. This started life as a show where professional dancers displayed their skills, and taught others how to dance. From 1953 it changed to a competition, and over more than 400 episodes its presenters included Peter West, Terry Wogan and Angela Rippon. When it was relaunched in 2004, with celebrities and professional dancers paired to compete in a knock-out format, a new title was needed. It’s a reflection of the influence of Victor Silvester on ballroom dancing that it is now “Strictly Come Dancing.”

 

 

Philip Grant, Wembley History Society.

 

 

I would not have known about Victor Silvester’s Wembley connections, let alone be able to write about them, if it were not for my late Wembley History Society colleague, Richard Graham. He wrote an article, “The bandleader and the clergyman”, for a Journal I was editing in 2009, and much of what I have written above was adapted from his work. This local history blog is dedicated to Richard’s memory.

 

 

This will be the last “local history in lockdown” article for now. I need to take a break, but hope you have enjoyed the past eight months of illustrated local history stories each weekend. 

 

 

When I first suggested the idea to Martin, back in March, I had no idea that “lockdown” would go on for so long. This programme of weekly articles (36 in total!) could not have continued throughout that time without the efforts and support of a number of friends in Brent’s local history community, especially Margaret, Christine, Irina and Paul.

 

 

Special thanks are due to Brent Archives (and to Ruth in particular) for allowing us to use many of the old photographs from their collection to illustrate our articles. If you have missed any of the articles, or would like to read some of them again, the Archives have made them available online – just “click” here to find pdf copies.