Showing posts with label Wembley Park. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wembley Park. Show all posts

Saturday, 28 June 2025

The curtain comes down for the very last time at the Wembley Majestic Cinema - the final part of the local history series


This the last of the local history series on the Wembley Majestic by Tony Royden and Philip Grant. I would like to thank them for the guest  articles that are clearly the result of a great deal of research and preserve another piece of Wembley history.

 

1.The Majestic Cinema from Park Lane, early 1950s, with a carnival procession passing by.

 

We hope you’ve enjoyed the two previous instalments of our story, taking us up to the cinema’s opening night on 11 January 1929. If you missed them, “click” on these “links” for Part 1 and Part 2

 

After all the hype and publicity behind Wembley’s new ‘super cinema’, the Majestic finally opened its doors to the public on Saturday 12 January 1929 and the audience were treated to a one-day special programme: On the bill were variety acts and two black-and-white, silent movies, with the headline feature film, “Across the Atlantic”, starring Monty Blue and Edna Murphy - a 1928 US, hour-long, romantic drama. With its first takings at the box office, the Majestic was now up and running as a business.

 

2.The Majestic’s advertisement from the “Wembley News”, 25 January 1929.
(Brent Archives – local newspaper microfilms)

 

From that day, the Majestic adopted a regular pattern of screening two films a week: Monday to Wednesday (the first film) and Thursday to Saturday (the second film), with Sunday being a day of rest, until the law was changed in 1932. Often billed alongside the movies would be live variety acts, performed on the Majestic’s stage and music played on the cinema’s Kinestra organ (sometimes to accompany silent movies and other times solo pieces would be performed in the interludes).

 

3.The Majestic’s projection room and its equipment.
(“Kinematograph Weekly”, 17 January 1929 – image courtesy of the British Library)

 

An article published in the “Kinematograph Weekly”, 17 January 1929, stated: 'The Majestic embodies every principle of the best West End practice and there can be few similar halls which will bear comparison with the building, especially as regards the equipment of the projection box, which should serve as an example of modern installation of this nature.' The projection room was indeed something to be proud of, but no sooner had the Majestic opened, a major transition in cinematic history was taking place.

 

In October 1927 the very first “part-talkie” movie “The Jazz Singer” premiered in America – and it was an instant hit. The film screened at London’s Piccadilly Theatre in September 1928 and in the same month, British Talking Pictures Ltd (a newly formed company), had acquired a former British Empire Exhibition building at Wembley Park, to open a film studio – later claiming it to be the first fully equipped talking-picture studio in Europe. A new era of ‘talking movies’ had arrived and although the Majestic had top class film projectors, it would soon have to change and move with the times – an added expense they didn’t see coming.

 

4.One of W.E. Greenwood’s interior designs, in the Majestic Cinema’s auditorium, colourised.
(From the “Wembley News” supplement, 18 January 1929)

 

Other changes were also on the horizon: By the end of 1929, Wembley’s Majestic Cinema had changed ownership from the original company of local businessmen, led by R.H. Powis (a County Councillor and public works contractor), to the ‘Majestic Theatres Corporation Ltd’, headed and chaired by W.E. Greenwood – the highly acclaimed atmospheric interior designer of Wembley’s Majestic cinema. The new company seemed to have legs and in December 1929, “The Bioscope” reported that a second “Majestic” cinema had opened in Staines and that there would be a third “Majestic” opening in High Wycombe (both with interior décor designed by Mr Greenwood) to add to the Wembley “Majestic” which the new company now owned.

 

How did the two rival cinemas in Wembley respond to competition from the new Majestic ‘super cinema’? The change in the style of the Majestic’s weekly programme advertisements in 1933 was a sign that something was going on!

 

5.Majestic Cinema programme adverts from the “Wembley News”, April and December 1933.
(Brent Archives – local newspaper microfilms)

 

The Elite Cinema (with 1500 seats) located in Raglan Gardens (now Empire Way), closed in March 1930 and, after internal reconstruction, reopened in May 1930 as the Capitol Cinema, increasing its capacity to 1637 seats. It was refurbished again in 1933 and it was around this time that the Capitol and the Majestic decided the best way forward for both businesses to prosper would be to operate under one umbrella. It turned out that they were now both ultimately owned by County Cinemas Ltd (though operated through a local subsidiary company). The ownership change was publicly confirmed from July 1934, when their weekly programmes were displayed in joint advertisements.

 

6.Majestic and Capitol Cinema programme advert from the “Wembley News”, 5 July 1934.
(Brent Archives – local newspaper microfilms)

 

The Majestic’s other, and nearest, rival (as you can tell from the aerial photograph below) was the smaller, privately-owned, Wembley Hall Cinema – located at the corner of the High Road and Cecil Avenue. It was 1935 before its proprietor, Miss Nora Thomson, decided to rebuild and modernise her cinema, increasing the seating capacity from 560 to 1050. This may have been in response to competition from the Majestic, or even from the rapidly-growing Odeon chain that had opened cinemas in Kingsbury and Kenton in 1934, and had plans to open another cinema even closer, in Allandale Avenue, Sudbury, in 1935. But with the film industry growing at an exponential rate, and on the cusp of what was considered to be the ‘Golden Age of Cinema’ (with people flocking to see their favourite movie stars and latest film releases), Miss Thomson’s decision to expand may have simply been to reap the rewards of that.

 

7.Aerial photograph showing part of Wembley High Road in 1938, with arrows showing the two cinemas.
(Britain from Above, image EPW056263 – courtesy of Historic England)

 

The outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 may have had a profound impact on County Cinemas Ltd as (in the same month) it was sold to Oscar Deutsch’s Odeon Cinema chain. The Majestic managed to keep its name, and both its cinema and ballroom played their part in helping to keep up the morale of local civilians during the dark wartime years.  But more changes were afoot, when the Rank Organisation bought control of Odeon Cinemas following Deutsch’s death in 1941. As for the Capitol Cinema in Empire Way, that too played its part in the war effort when, in 1943, it was requisitioned to use as a shelter for people displaced from their bomb-damaged homes – it was never to reopen as a cinema again.

 

8.Two adverts for events at the Majestic in May 1943. (Brent Archives – local newspaper microfilms)

 

From the end of the war through to the mid-1950s, the film industry experienced a period of prosperity, marked by a series of box office hits shown at the Majestic from Paramount Pictures, whose Academy Award winning films included "Sunset Boulevard", "The Greatest Show on Earth", "Shane" and Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments".

 

9.Wembley High Road in the early 1950s, with the Majestic Cinema on the right. (Colourised photograph)

 

In January 1956, after it was decided that the Majestic needed a more modern feel, applications were submitted for new signage for the front of the building: The café was to become the “STARS espresso bar and restaurant”, and a large vertical illuminated “ODEON” sign was to be placed above the entrance door. The Majestic’s name was formally changed to the Odeon in March 1956 (although local residents still referred to it as The Majestic!). 

 

Meanwhile, the Wembley Hall Cinema, which had operated independently for 25 years under the ownership of Miss Nora Thomson, came to an end when Miss Thomson retired and sold her cinema in February 1956. The cinema closed for two weeks for rebranding and reopened on 25 March under the new name of “Gaumont”. This should have rung alarm bells, as both the Odeon and Gaumont cinema chains were owned by the Rank Organisation.

 

At that time, the Majestic’s future may have still looked bright, especially when more illuminated signs appeared on the front of the building in 1957, advertising the “Victor Silvester Dance Studio” – this would have been a huge draw. The famous Wembley-born ballroom dancer and band leader ran a chain of schools teaching ballroom dancing, and one of these opened in the Majestic’s ballroom. 

 

10.The Odeon (former Majestic) Wembley, with signs for the Victor Silverster dance studio, around 1960.
(Brent Archives – Wembley History Society Collection – colourised version)

 

However, television had arrived and its popularity was rapidly growing. By 1960, box office takings were on the decline and ‘The Golden Age of Cinema’ was coming to an end. During this period, Wembley had three cinemas, all in close proximity to each other – the Majestic, the Gaumont and the Regal/ABC (which had opened on Ealing Road, 8 February 1937). The market share wasn’t enough to go around and so something had to give.  

 

The Rank Organisation had probably been considering getting rid of one of their two Wembley High Road cinemas for some time (especially as they had already closed their Odeon cinema on Allandale Avenue, Sudbury, in October 1956). When a potential buyer came knocking with an offer for the much larger of the two cinemas, located in a more desirable position for shopping, the writing was on the wall for the Majestic.    

 

On Thursday, May 25 1961, Wembley residents awoke to read a front-page headline in the “Wembley Observer” that must have shaken them to the core. It read: “Former Majestic closes on Saturday. WEMBLEY LOSES ITS ODEON CINEMA.” Inside, instead of the usual programme advertisement, was an announcement from the cinema itself stating: ’The management regret that this Theatre will be closed as from Sunday, May 28th’.

 

11.The front-page story in the “Wembley Observer”, 25 May 1961.
(Brent Archives – local newspaper microfilms)

 

12.The Odeon programme advert from the “Wembley Observer”, 25 May 1961.
(Brent Archives – local newspaper microfilms)

 

If the news wasn’t shocking enough, it was also announced that the dance studio and restaurant had been told they must close on the same day. The Observer further reported that the Rank Organisation had, that week, submitted an outline planning application to build a supermarket on the cinema’s site. It was the end of an era – Wembley’s beloved Majestic/Odeon was to be no more. Its wonderful stage curtain had fallen for the last time. 

 

13.The Majestic Cinema’s safety curtain - colourised.
(From the “Wembley News” supplement, 18 January 1929)

 

Out of the two cinemas on Wembley High Road, it was the Gaumont that went on to fight another day. When the Majestic closed, the Rank Organisation simultaneously rebranded the Gaumont to their more popularly known Odeon name, and there it continued as the Wembley Odeon until it closed in January 1975. (The building was used again from 1976 to 1981, as the Liberty Cinema, showing Bollywood films, before it was finally demolished.)

 

14.The former Wembley Hall Cinema, as the Gaumont (1956) and Wembley Odeon (1962).
(Images from the internet)

 

Only a third of a century after it was built, Wembley’s Majestic Cinema was demolished. The building which replaced it opened as a C&A Modes clothing shop in 1962. More recently, readers may also remember this as a Wilkinson’s “Wilko” store, but that too has gone. 

 

15.The 1960s building on the former Majestic Cinema site, from Park Lane, June 2025.

 

Sadly, the Majestic Cinema and its name have long disappeared from our High Road, but we hope that this short series of articles has helped you to visualise the grandeur of Wembley’s own “super cinema” and in some way, helped to preserve its memory. R.H. Powis, whose dream it was for local men to build the Majestic for the enjoyment of local people, is also long gone. But in his capacity as a public works contractor, his name has not entirely disappeared from our local streets – if you keep your eyes peeled, you may just see it as you stroll through the area!

 

16.An “R.H. Powis – Wembley” manhole cover. (This one is in Slough Lane, Kingsbury)


Tony Royden and Philip Grant.


Tuesday, 27 May 2025

June 7th-11th bus diversions for 92, 206 and 440 routes due to Fifth Way, Wembley Park, closure for crane operations

Due to the closure of Fifth Way, Wembley Park, for crane operations from 7th June at 00.01 until 11th June 23.45 buses will be diverted as follows: 

92 Drury Way will miss stops from Wembley Stadium Station to Ikea Brent Park

206 towards Kilburn Park Station will miss stops from Lycee International / Kings Drive to Hannah Close. 

440 will not serve stops between Olympic Way and First Way.

Thursday, 24 April 2025

VE Day 80th anniversary, and other Brent history events for May

 Guest post by local historian Philip Grant

 


Title slide for VE Day anniversary talk at Kingsbury Library on 6 May.

 

The Spring 2025 “Your Brent” magazine promised ‘exciting events across Brent libraries commemorating the 80th anniversary of VE Day’, and frontline staff at our Council-run libraries have been under pressure to deliver on that promise! As a result, I was asked (and agreed) to prepare an illustrated VE Day talk, which I will be presenting at a Kingsbury Library coffee morning event on Tuesday 6 May, from 11am to 12noon. If you would like to come, you can find out more and reserve your place using this “link”.

 

As the request was made at fairly short notice, I had to use some of my existing Second World War material in putting the powerpoint slide show together, including an article I wrote for the 75th anniversary, as part of the 2020 weekly “local history in lockdown” series for Wembley Matters and Brent Archives. My talk will cover not only the celebrations in May 1945, but also the six years before that in Wembley and Willesden, and the slides may also be shown in other Brent libraries on Thursday 8 May. As my introductory slide makes clear, it is a talk that celebrates the end of war, not war itself.

 

 

 

The only other special event for the VE Day anniversary in Brent libraries that I am aware of is a lunchtime concert at Willesden Green Library on Thursday 8 May, from 12noon to 1pm. This free 1940s musical hour will be given by the Bluebelle Trio. For more details, and to reserve your place, “click” here.

 


The Bluebelle Trio (Image from the Brent Libraries, Arts and Heritage Eventbrite page)

2025 is also the centenary of the second year of the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Park. Brent Civic Centre is on the site of part of that exhibition’s Palace of Industry, so it is appropriate that Wembley Library will be the venue for my talk on “A Day Out at Wembley Park in 1924”, on Tuesday 20 May, from 6.30 to 7.30pm.

 

Title slide for my talk at Wembley Library on 20 May.

 

This is almost the same presentation that I gave at a Kingsbury Library coffee morning in July last year, but by putting it on in the early evening, and in Wembley Park, I hope it will make it more accessible for people who are working during the day. If you would like to attend this guided tour, in pictures, around the 1924 exhibition you can reserve your free place here.

 

If you are interested in the British Empire Exhibition, and particularly in the part it played in 1920s British design, then Wembley History Society’s meeting on Friday 16 May may appeal to you. Dr Kathryn Ferry will be presenting an illustrated talk on “Wembley 1924 – The First Concrete City”. The meeting takes place from 7.30 to 9pm at St Andrew’s Church Hall, Church Lane, Kingsbury, and visitors are welcome. You can see more details on the poster below. [I have been watching some of the “Villages by the Sea” programmes on iPlayer recently, and Kathryn Ferry appears as a guest expert on seaside history in several of them, so I know that she is an excellent speaker!]

 


 

There are other Brent Libraries events, for both adults and children, which you can check out on the Libraries, Culture and Heritage Eventbrite page at any time, by using this quick “link”:

http://tinyurl.com/jjhjrrzs

 

I hope that at least some of these events will be of interest to you, and look forward to welcoming you, if one of mine finds its way into your calendar!


Philip Grant.

Tuesday, 1 April 2025

Carey Group face £2.4m claim for alleged over-charging

 

The old Carey Group Office in Wembley

Anyone driving or taking the bus around the back of Wembley Stadium will be familiar with  acres of Carey Group plant, now much of it moved to Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire.

The company was started in 1969 by three Irish brothers and is now a huge multi-faceted company but still privately owned:

 


In 2023 Carey Group  owned T.E. Scudder Ltd was fined for colluding in illegal rigged bids for demolition and asbestos removal contracts. Ten firms were fined a total of nearly £60m. 

Now Circadian Limited, a Hong King based developer, has started a legal action against the Group alleging that it was over-charged £2.4m for demolition work at Lots Road Power Station in London.

The claim states, 'the Cartel Arrangements caused the price of construction services to be higher that they would have otherwise have been.'

The Carey Group have undertaken building work for Quintain Group and also own the Seneca waste processing plant in Wembley Park. They operate a charitable arm, the Carey Foundation and at one stage expressed interest in running the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre.

In September 2023  the Group made a profit of just £9m  after a loss of £38m the previous year.


Monday, 17 March 2025

Union Park North beginning to take shape in Wembley Park

 


I had a peek at Union Park North currently under construction in Wembley Park this morning. It is claimed to take inspiration from Humprey Repton who created the landscape around Barn Hill from around 1793.

At this stage there appears to be too much concrete to my taste and a natural pond/lake would be more in the Barn Hill tradition but of course it is early days. Some tree planting has already taken place and  plans include 'a community centre, public art, a dedicated area for pets to enjoy some ‘pet time’ off their lead and a new bandstand for free music and entertainment year-round.'

Quintain claim that there are two aspects to the name 'Union Park' one aspect is bringing together a new community and the other a tribute to  Walter Citrine, the first Baron of Wembley and 'one of the leading British and international trade unionists in the 20th century. Baron Citrine was widely credited for providing the Trades Union Congress with the administrative backbone it needed to become the respected lobbying organisation it is today.'

It will be interesting to see what is planned to explain his contribution in the new park.

 

The south section of Union Park has been open for some time. It is reviewed HERE.




Wednesday, 12 March 2025

Promising test of low-carbon concrete technology in Wembley Park development

 

From Ecocem

 

Sisk has successfully completed testing of a new low-carbon technology to decarbonize concrete at its Wembley Park project site in London. Initial test results demonstrate over 70 percent of carbon savings compared to standard concrete.

The low-carbon demonstrator project received £500,000 from Innovate UK funding as part of its Contracts for Innovation to pioneer the use of ACT, Ecocem’s low-carbon concrete technology in a structure, which is the first of its kind. 

The demonstrator project was based at NE02/NE03, Wembley Park, where Sisk has been working on the redevelopment of Wembley Park for its long-term client, Quintain for the past 20 years. Sisk gathered with each of its consortium partners for an event hosted at Wembley Park to discuss its findings.

The two-storey project used a range of different construction methodologies and concrete mixes all based on ACT. From floors to precast concrete stairs, columns and walls, the initial feedback on the performance of each element is very promising. In each case the concrete made with ACT met the design specification for each application assessed and delivered a significant carbon saving of over 70 percent.

Ecocem recently announced that it has begun construction on its first production facility dedicated to ACT at its Dunkirk facility in Northern France, where it will invest over £42M (€50M). The new facility will have an initial capacity to deliver 300,000 tons of ACT annually.

This innovation will revolutionize low-carbon cement commercial viability within the construction sector. ACT, is a breakthrough cement technology which combines a range of technical innovations with the use of widely available low-carbon materials to decarbonize the production of cement by as much as 70 percent, while enhancing the strength and durability of the concrete it is used to manufacture. 

 

Ross Cullen, Chief Engineer, Sisk said:

At Sisk, we have been committed to sustainability for many years. Our low-carbon concrete journey began with the establishment of various strategies aimed at reducing our environmental impact. One of the key initiatives was the creation of an internal low-carbon concrete working group. This was formed to deepen our understanding of carbon in concrete and to explore opportunities and technologies that can help us reduce the embodied carbon in our projects.

The construction industry has a profound responsibility to reduce our climate impact. As one of the largest contributors to global carbon emissions, it is imperative that we take significant steps towards sustainability. The development of low-carbon concrete is a tremendous leap forward in this endeavour. This innovation not only reduces our carbon footprint but also sets a new standard for environmentally responsible construction practices.

 

 

Monday, 9 December 2024

Quintain 2023 £720m loss revealed in late accounts

 

Credit: Quintainliving.com

Quintain the developer behind the huge Wembley Park project has revealed losses of more that £700m before taxation in delayed 2023 accounts recently filed. This compares with a profit of  £140 before taxation in 2022. LINK TO FULL ACCOUNTS

The Quintain board said:

The group has a clear business plan, objectives and an agreed strategy and there have been a number of major events and milestones achieved in the period to December 2023 which have contributed significantly towards achieving those objectives.

During the period and subsequently Quintain have made some sell-offs and also new loan arrangements:


If you are wondering about the 'immediate parent company', Bailey Acquisitions Ltd,  there is an explanation. You will note where they are located:
 




 


Tuesday, 12 November 2024

BEE Never-Stop Railway to be commemorated if Wembley Edge planning application is approved

 

Boarding the Never-Stop  Railway

 

Brent planning officers have taken up the suggestion made by Wembley History Society (see LINK) that there should be a commemoration panel at the site of the Never-Stop railway station that served visitors to the British Empire Exhibition. The site currently used by a skip hire company will become student accommodation known as Wembley Edge if the application is approved tomorrow.

In a Supplementary Report, mainly made up of corrections to the main report, they propose a new condition: 

An additional heritage condition is also recommended having considered the Wembley History Society comments referred to above. This should read;

“Prior to commencement (but excluding demolition, site clearance and enabling works) details of the introduction of an illustrated local history panel or plaque shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority, in consultation with the Council's Heritage Officer, Brent Museum and Archives and Wembley History Society.

Details of which shall include but is not limited to the following:

·        Description of the historical significance of the site and commemorating the British Empire Exhibition history of the development site, including the Exhibition Station, Never-Stop Railway and King's Gate Bridge.

·        Identification of a suitable location within the site where the panel can be installed where it can be easily viewed by the general public.

The historical panel or plaque shall thereafter be installed in accordance with the approved details prior to first occupation of the development hereby approved, and thereafter retained throughout the lifetime of the development.

Reason: In the interest of local history.”

Well done Philip Grant.