Cecil Aubrey Masey (28 December 1880 – 7 April 1960) was an English theatre and cinema architect, born on 28 December 1880 in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

, London. Masey was a pupil of

Bertie Crewe William Robert 'Bertie' Crewe (1860 – 10 January 1937) was one of the leading English theatre architects in the boom of 1885 to 1915. Biography Born in Essex and partly trained by Frank Matcham, Crewe and his contemporaries W.G.R. Sprague an ...

—with whom he worked on the Empire music hall in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

of 1908—and from 1909, he went into partnership with architect Roy Young. Some of Masey's earliest designs include the Grade II listed

New Wimbledon Theatre The New Wimbledon Theatre is situated on the Broadway, Wimbledon, London, in the London Borough of Merton. It is a Listed building, Grade II listed Edwardian era, Edwardian theatre built by the theatre lover and entrepreneur, J. B. Mulholland, w ...

, built in 1919 together with Roy Young on the Broadway in

Wimbledon, London Wimbledon () is a suburb of southwest London, England, southwest of Charing Cross; it is the main commercial centre of the London Borough of Merton. Wimbledon had a population of 68,189 in 2011 which includes the electoral wards of Abbey, Wimb ...

, and the Electric Theatre in

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

, built in 1919 for Alexander Bernstein. In 1920 Masey also designed the Empire Cinema in

Willesden Willesden () is an area of north-west London, situated 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933; it has formed ...

for Bernstein. The Grade II listed Phoenix Theatre was designed together with

Giles Gilbert Scott Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (9 November 1880 – 8 February 1960) was a British architect known for his work on the New Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Battersea Power Station, Liverpool Cathedral, and de ...

and

, and opened in 1930. It is a

West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes"West End"in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, ...

in the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London boroughs, borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former Metropolitan boroughs of the Cou ...

, located on

Charing Cross Road Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus (the intersection with Oxford Street), which then merges into Tottenham Court Road. It leads from the north in the direc ...

, at the corner with Flitcroft Street, and with the entrance on Phoenix Street. Other buildings he was involved with include the Grade I listed Granada Cinema with four Corinthian style pillars over the entrance, located in

Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre-Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The name is of Anglo-Saxon ori ...

, an area in the

London Borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a London boroughs, London borough in South West (London sub region), South West London, England. It forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main communities are Battersea, Balham, P ...

, London, which opened in 1931 - one of the great, luxurious cinemas built in the 1930s; the 1932 Grade II listed cinema in Northfields Avenue, West Ealing, later used as a club and since converted into a church and the now-demolished Rex Cinema, 1936, in Station Approach,

Hayes Hayes may refer to: * Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States * Hayes (given name) Businesses * Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes * Hay ...

in the

London Borough of Hillingdon The London Borough of Hillingdon () is a London borough in Greater London, England. It forms part of outer London and West London, being the westernmost London borough. It was formed in 1965 from the districts of Hayes and Harlington Urban Distr ...

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London, N ...

. He also designed the Grade II* listed

Granada Cinema, Woolwich The former Granada Cinema, also known as the Ebenezer Building or Cathedral of Christ Faith Tabernacle, in Woolwich, South East London, was built as a large and luxurious cinema in the 1930s. It had a seating capacity of nearly 2500 and is now be ...

(with

Reginald Uren Reginald Harold Uren FRIBA (5 March 1906 – 17 February 1988) was a New Zealand-born architect who worked in the United Kingdom for most of his career. Life and work Uren was born in the Belfast area of Christchurch, South Island on 5 March 1 ...

and

Theodore Komisarjevsky Fyodor Fyodorovich Komissarzhevsky (; 23 May 1882 – 17 April 1954), or Theodore Komisarjevsky, was a Russian, later British, theatrical director and designer. He began his career in Moscow, but had his greatest influence in London. He was note ...

) and the Granada Theatre, Clapham Junction (with H. R. Horner and Leslie Norton), both built in 1937. Masey died on 7 April 1960. His address was 29 Woodcote Avenue, Wallington, Surrey.

References

site visit.

External links

* Architects from London People from Lambeth 1880 births 1960 deaths {{UK-architect-stub