The building which now stands at 22 Alexandra Street has a long and interesting history. We have recently found out that in 1731 the land belonged to an Alexander Robertson who left the land to his daughter-in-law. It seems funny to think that it belonged to a Robertson all those years ago - fate, perhaps!.
Today, from the outside, it just looks like an old cinema, perhaps built in the 60s, but on the inside there is plenty of evidence which points to its beginnings and which tell the story of this lovely old building. Before becoming the current New Empire Theatre, it has lived three lives, first as the original Empire Theatre, then the Rivoli Picture House, then the ABC Cinema.
The links below take you to each of those peroids in its life, and offer an insight into the fascinating stories surrounding the building's history. These sections include unseen pictures of the old basements which still exist, all the newspaper reports of events in 1895-96 including the fire and the opening of Marlow's new theatre, and many pictures of the cinema from 1920 to 1998.
If there are any theatre historians reading this information, we would be very interested in hearing from you if you have things to add or if some of the information is not historically correct. Much of the history of the theatre has been made from assumption provided by bits of evidence we have found. We would appreciate any feedback from anyone who has a deep knowledge of theatres of that time or cinema from that time. Please contact us.
Much of the research is still going on, and we are finding out more every day. Please re-visit this section from time to time to see what else we have found out! |
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