Sale - Warwick Cinema

The Warwick Cinema was situated at 101, Northenden Road in Sale Moor. It was designed by the architects, Drury and Gomersall and was built on a site previously occupied by cottages and gardens.

Drury and Gomersall specialised in the design of cinemas and theatres predominantly in the Northwest of England during the 1930s.Joseph Gomersall had a background of theatre work and restoration, and had collected many ideas during his travels through Europe, where he had sampled the latest architectural trends.

The Warwick cinema was named after its managing director, Warwick Gordon Smith who had also managed the Pyramid Cinema in Sale and the Longford Cinema in Stretford. He was well known in cinema circles and a pioneer of talking pictures.

The cinema was a modest building compared to the ‘Super Cinemas. A single-story building, the Warwick was hailed as a ‘modern cine-theatre’ with its 36-foot stage and five dressing rooms, which enabled it to host pantomimes and shows by local operatic societies.

The Warwick cinema was officially opened on 5 August 1939 by the Mayor of Sale, Alderman W. Plant, to an audience of specially invited guests.  The first performance was ‘The Mad Miss Manton” starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. There were over 100 messages of congratulations and one of them was a cablegram from Barbara Stanwyck herself. There was also a telegram from George Formby which was greeted with loud applause from the audience. The screen was flanked by two representations of Oscar, the annual award made in Hollywood, USA

An article in The Manchester Evening News dated 2 August 1938 describes the interior of the new cinema prior to it’s opening:

The principal aim of the directors has been to get an air of intimacy about the theatre. They have started their efforts at the door with a carpeted entrance hall. The lighting is as good as modern electricians can make.

There is nothing futuristic about the decorations. From the golds and the flames of the ceiling down to the deepening tones of the walls and the more riotous colours of the pilasters which flank the stage, the whole effect is cheerful and restful. When planning the projection room, the directors have remembered that somewhere, not very far away looms television. They have left space for a research room and additional staff accommodation.

By 1947, the Warwick Cinema had been booked by the renowned cinema company, George Brian Snape Circuit of Manchester, who played a key role in cinema operations. During the 1950s, with new builds and acqusitions, the company became the largest it had ever been, with a total of 26 cinemas under its ownership. 

The Warwick closed its doors in July 1962, having been deemed ‘uneconomic’. The final film shown there was 'Only Two Can Play' starring Peter Sellers and Mai Zetterling. According to the Sale and Stretford Guardian dated 28 July 1962, the building was sold to Shell-Mex and BP, after approval was given to build a petrol filling station on the half-acre site, together with a seven-storey block of flats. Originally, Sale Borough Council had refused to grant planning permission to the development, saying that Sale was not well served with community or recreational buildings and if the cinema closed, it should be used as a community centre. But after a public enquiry in 1961, the Minister of Housing allowed an appeal against the Council’s decision by the owners Warwick Cinemas (Timperley) Ltd. 

The original building plans for the Warwick Cinema have now been catalogued. They include engineering, section and floor plans. As they are still in copyright, they cannot be reproduced online. However, they can be viewed by appointment, at the Trafford Local Studies centre at Sale Library (24 hours’ notice is required).

Sources

https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/52455  

Cinemas of Trafford complied by Douglas Rendell

A History of Sale from earliest times to the present day by N.V.Swain

Kinematograph Weekly Thursday 10 August 1939

Sale and Stretford Guardian 28 July 1962

Manchester Evening News 2 August 1939

OS map SJ7991

PLA/2/SAL/1938/2/8048

PLA/SAL/1938/2/8047