The Carlton Theatre, Essex Road, Islington
Later - ABC / Mecca Bingo /
See also in this area - The Angel Picture Theatre - The Philharmonic Hall / Empire Theatre / Grand Theatre - The Marlborough Theatre - The Pleasance Theatre - Collins' Music Hall - The Parkhurst Theatre - The Royal Agricultural Hall and Islington Palace
Above - A Google StreetView Image of the former Carlton Theatre, Islington in 2020 - Click to Interact.
The former Carlton Theatre is situated on Essex Road, Islington and first opened on the 1st of September 1930 with a showing of the 1929 'Talkie' film 'Welcome Danger', starring Harold Lloyd, this was followed by a short film on the building of the Theatre, and then a variety show on the Theatre's stage with Stephanie Anderson's Mid Air Girls, Gerardo and Adair, George Jackley, and the Three Virginians, all accompanied by Jean Michaud and his 25 piece orchestra and the Theatre's own Compton Organ played by Phil Finch.
Right - The opening night of the Carlton Theatre, Islington - From the Bioscope, 10th September 1930.
The Theatre was built as a Cine Variety Theatre for the Clavering and Rose Cinema Circuit and was designed by the well known Cinema Architect George Coles. The Theatre was designed primarily as a Cinema but did have full stage facilities with a 26 foot deep stage and four dressing rooms for its artistes. Above the Theatre's Foyer was a cafe for its patrons.
The exterior of the Theatre was designed in the Egyptian Style with muti-coloured Hathernware tiles, and internally the Foyer was in the Empire Style but still with some hints of the Egyptian about it, the auditorium however was designed in the French Renaissance style.
Left - The Auditorium of the Carlton Theatre, Islington when it first opened - Photo by 'Comfortably Cool' and reproduced here with a creative commons licence from the Cinema Treasures Website.
The Bioscope reported on the Carlton Theatre whilst it was being constructed in their 14th of May 1930 edition saying:- 'London's latest super, The Carlton, Essex Road, N., now in course of construction to the design of Mr. George Coles, F.R.I.B.A., has a seating capacity entitling it to rank among the largest super kinemas. The Theatre, which is being built for C. & R. Theatres Ltd., of which Albert Clavering and John Rose are managing directors, is scheduled to open to the public early in the coming autumn.
Above - The Exterior and Main Entrance to the Carlton Theatre, Islington in 1930 - From The Bioscope, 14th of May 1930.
The main entrance facade has a full width frontage to the Essex Road; the other two open sides front on to River Street and Astey's Road where ample exits for public and entrances for staff and scenery are situated. The Essex Road frontage is faced with white and polychrome terra-cotta.
Bold Egyptian treatment
The design has a marked Egyptian character. Fluted and decorated columns support the bold lintel construction of the upper stories while two pylons form flanking features. The enrichments to cornices, columns and string courses are in red, orange, green and blue.
Over the central group of entrance doors is a metal canopy of striking design. Predominantly gold in colour, it has enamelled ornaments in vermilion, lemon yellow and green. The underside will be brilliantly illuminated at night.
Minimising Stair Climbing
The floor of the auditorium is entered from the vestibule at practically the same level. Staircases lead up from the vestibule to passages formed in the void of the balcony so that the latter is entered at points about the centre of its length. By this means patrons can reach their seats with the minimum climbing of stairs. Additional exits are provided from the back of the balcony, these leading directly to the street.
A foyer on the ground floor connects the entrance vestibule with the auditorium, and on the first floor is a large tea room and lounge. Both these rooms serve as waiting spaces for the public. Kitchen and service are provided on the first floor adjacent to the tea room.
The plant room and the projection box (with its dependant rooms) occupy the second and third floors respectively of the front portion of the building. A boardroom; rooms for manager and staff, artists and orchestra, scene dock and property room are included in the plan.
Above - The Auditorium of the Carlton Theatre, Islington in 1930 - From The Bioscope, 14th of May 1930.
The design and decoration of the interior are conceived on more classical lines than the exterior, though the vestibule and waiting spaces, with their decorations in a modernised Empire style, carry on and blend with the Egyptian character of the facade. Marble is the most important material used in the decoration of the entrance vestibule. Pilasters are of Breccia Rosario marble, dado of the same material with skirting and capping of black and gold. The floor has a centre of rose florida with margins of Portuguese Skyros and Verde Corona. The ceiling is of fibrous plaster with enriched beams and mouldings.
Warmth and Restfulness
The waiting spaces and tea room are carried out in fibrous plaster, with decorative schemes of a restfulness and restraint appropriate to their functions. Peach-coloured mirrors and amber-toned lighting are introduced to heighten the effect of warmth and comfort. In the auditorium proper, the focal point of the proscenium opening is enclosed by a bold rectangular frame, flanked by two colonnades with piers as end features, containing niches and vases. A lighter arcaded treatment decorates the side walls over the balcony. The ceiling is coved and has a large dome as its crowning feature.
The colour scheme, for wall and ceiling surfaces generally, consist of varied tones of buff, amber and tinted silver. Draperies to colonnades and arcades are of gold tinted beige with pelmets and surrounds of soft green, scarlet and gold.
Nine Sets of Draperies
The main curtain of the proscenium is of gold beige with applique ornament in autumn shades, while the pelmet has a multicoloured design on a soft green background. The proscenium opening is equipped with nine sets of draperies, in order to give a variety of decorative coloured settings.
The stage is fully equipped for the presentation of variety turns, and two "talkie" screens are provided in addition to the magnascope screen. The organ occupies two electrically heated rooms at the side of the proscenium.
New Standard of Comfort
Electrical equipment comprises general and decorative lighting, flood lighting from the auditorium ceiling, Brenkert spot lighting, talking picture apparatus and loud speakers in tea room and vestibule. Telephone booths adjoin all parts of the theatre used by the public.
Heating and ventilating are on the Plenum (downward) system, and should provide comfort for all patrons.
The seating has been given very special care and it is so arranged that a brilliantly projected picture will be seen and listened to in surroundings and comfort that heretofore have not been available in the neighbourhood.
The above text in quotes was first published in The Bioscope, 14th of May 1930.
Above - The Carlton Theatre, Islington shortly before its opening in September 1930 - From The Bioscope, 20th of August 1930.
The Carlton Theatre had first opened on the 1st of September 1930 and was built for the Clavering and Rose Cinema Circuit, however, it was taken over by ABC in February 1935, although it was not renamed as such until 1962.
Theatrical use ended in 1972 when the last film, 'On the Buses' was shown there on the 5th of August. The Theatre was then converted into a Mecca Bingo Club which ran for decades until it was finally closed in March 2007.
Right - A Google StreetView Image of the former Carlton Theatre, Islington in October 2024 - Click to Interact.
The building was then purchased by a Church who proposed that it was to become part Church and part Cinema but this never came to fruition and Church use only eventually began in 2013 and only using the former Stalls area of the Theatre. Some work on the internal fabric of this Grade II Listed building has taken place recently and it is hoped a full restoration will take place in due course. There are many interesting images of the Carlton Theatre on the Cinema Treasures Website here.
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