The Chiswick Empire was a theatre facing

Turnham Green Turnham Green is a public park on Chiswick High Road, Chiswick, London, and the neighbourhood and conservation area around it; historically, it was one of the four medieval villages in the Chiswick area, the others being Old Chiswick, Littl ...

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...

that opened in 1912 and closed and was demolished in 1959. A venue for touring artists, some of the greatest names in drama, variety and

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

performed there including

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961), was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he ...

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

Chico Marx Leonard Joseph "Chico" Marx ( ; March 22, 1887October 11, 1961) was an American comedian, actor, and pianist. He was the oldest brother in the Marx Brothers comedy troupe, alongside his brothers Harpo Marx, Arthur ("Harpo"), Groucho Marx, Juliu ...

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comi ...

and

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer and actor. He was born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish Americans, Polish origin and enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, ...

Early history

In 1910 the theatre owner and manager

Oswald Stoll Sir Oswald Stoll (né Gray; 20 January 1866 – 9 January 1942) was an Australian-born British theatre manager and the co-founder of the Stoll Moss Group theatre company. He also owned Cricklewood Studios and film production company Stoll Pi ...

made a proposal to build a

on a site on

Chiswick High Road Chiswick High Road is the principal shopping and dining street of Chiswick, a district in the west of London. It was part of the main Roman road running west out of London, and remained the main road until the 1950s when the A4 was built across ...

, facing

. There followed a public debate with many local people opposed to Stoll's plan, arguing that such a venue would be unsuitable in one of the more select residential areas in the town. Others were concerned that a music hall would encourage working-class people to waste their money: "having too many music halls is a great blow to thrift – a great weakness of the English race was their want of thrift" suggested one local resident. However, the new theatre had enough local support for a 2,000 signature petition in its favour. Permission was granted and Stoll built his new theatre at 414 Chiswick High Road; some shops and the local smithy had to be demolished to accommodate it.Christina Pain
The Chiswick Empire – Brentford and Chiswick Local History Journal 10 (2001)
/ref> Chiswick Empire postcard 1913

Chiswick Empire was designed for Stoll by the theatre architect

Frank Matcham Francis Matcham (22 November 1854 – 17 May 1920)Mackintosh, Iain"Matcham, Frank" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 7 July 2019 was an English architect who specialised in the design of theatres and ...

. The interior was decorated in what was called a " Jacobean" style, similar in design to the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

. With a large two storey centrally placed opening with an open verandah,The Chiswick Empire Theatre – Cinema Treasures website
/ref> the auditorium could seat 1,948, with 890 in the Stalls, 454 in the Dress Circle, and 554 in the Balcony and eight boxes. The stage had a

proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...

width of 44 feet and an orchestra pit for 15 musicians. Behind the scenes were 10 dressing rooms. An innovation was a sliding roof; it was seldom opened, but when it was, would cause clouds of dust to drop on the audience. The Chiswick Empire opened on 2 September 1912 with a Variety bill that included some of the most popular performers of the time. While built as a venue for variety acts the Empire also at times staged plays. On 19 August 1913 while the theatre was empty a serious fire broke out which destroyed the stage and caused considerable damage to the auditorium. The fire was started by suffragettes after dousing much of the interior with oil, which caused the fire to spread rapidly. After extensive restoration at a cost of £12,000 the theatre reopened three months later with the appositely-named play ''The Miracle''.History of the Chiswick Empire – Arthur Lloyd.co.uk: The Music Hall and Theatre History Site Dedicated to Arthur Lloyd, 1839 – 1904
/ref> For the Christmas season each year the Empire put on a popular

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

, with George Formby Sr appearing in that for 1915 while the popular entertainers Dorothy Ward and Shaun Glenville appeared there in ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' in 1949.

Alma Cogan Alma Angela Cohen Cogan (19 May 1932 – 26 October 1966) was an English singer of traditional pop in the 1950s and early 1960s. Dubbed the "Girl with the Giggle in Her Voice", she was the highest paid British female entertainer of her era. Ch ...

was in the 1955 pantomime ''Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp''. In 1915 the Empire also saw

Gladys Cooper Dame Gladys Constance Cooper (18 December 1888 – 17 November 1971) was an English actress, theatrical manager and producer, whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television. Beginning as a teenager in Edwardian musica ...

Marie Lloyd Matilda Alice Victoria Wood (12 February 1870 – 7 October 1922), professionally known as Marie Lloyd (), was an English music hall singer, comedian and musical theatre actress. She was best known for her performances of songs such as "The Boy ...

and

Vesta Tilley Matilda Alice Powles, Lady de Frece (13May 186416September 1952) was an English music hall performer. She adopted the stage name Vesta Tilley and became one of the best-known male impersonators of her era. Her career lasted from 1869 until 19 ...

. In January 1917

Clara Butt Dame Clara Ellen Butt (1 February 1872 – 23 January 1936) was an English dramatic contralto and one of the most popular singers from the 1890s through to the 1920s. She had an exceptionally fine contralto voice and an agile singing technique, ...

appeared in a number of charity matinees and

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...

attended a concert in aid of the Chiswick Memorial Homes.

Between the Wars

By the 1920s the Empire was home to twice nightly variety acts as well as revues, plays and opera, with the Swiss clown Grock appearing in 1921. The company of

Ben Greet Sir Philip Barling Greet (24 September 1857 – 17 May 1936), known professionally as Ben Greet, was a British William Shakespeare, Shakespearean actor, director, impresario and actor-manager. Early life The younger son of Captain William Gre ...

held a Shakespeare season at the theatre while variety stars such as Wee Georgie Wood,

Tommy Handley Thomas Reginald Handley (17 January 1892 – 9 January 1949) was an English comedian, best known for the BBC radio programme ''It's That Man Again'' ("''ITMA''") which ran between 1939 and 1949. Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, Handley went on th ...

and Charles Hawtrey also appeared. In 1930

Sybil Thorndike Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson (24 October 18829 June 1976) was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969. Trained in her youth as a concert pianist, Thorndike turned to the stage when a medical problem with her h ...

appeared at the theatre in the play '' The Distaff Side'' and the Carl Rosa Opera Company played there, as did the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1931 In 1932 the Empire had a new manager who previously had worked in a theatre that had done well financially when it had changed to a full-time cinema. The Chiswick Empire similarly had a change of use to a cinema with a Western Electric sound system being installed. However, the move was not a success and in October 1933 the Empire reverted to being a live theatre with films only being shown on Sundays when live performances were prohibited.

Later years

At the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the Empire closed in common with all other theatres across the country, but reopened at the end of 1941 when some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry appeared including:

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is Honorific nicknames in popular music, honorifically known ...

Jimmy Jewel James Arthur Thomas Jewel Marsh (4 December 1909 – 3 December 1995),Gifford, Denni''The Independent'', 5 December 1995. Note: This obituary wrongly gives the year of birth as 1912, which is contradicted by the Ben Warriss obituary. Retrie ...

and Ben Warriss, Jimmy James,

Arthur Askey Arthur Bowden Askey (6 June 1900 – 16 November 1982) was an English comedian and actor. Askey was known for his short stature (5' 2", 1.58 m) and distinctive horn-rimmed glasses, and his playful humour incorporating improvisation an ...

and Lucan & McShane (Old Mother Riley and Her Daughter Kitty). After the War the Empire saw

in their first British tour (1947) and

(1949), while in the 1950s entertainers who appeared at the venue included:

Tommy Cooper Thomas Frederick Cooper (19 March 1921 – 15 April 1984) was a Welsh prop comedian and magician. As an entertainer, his appearance was large and lumbering at , and he habitually wore a red fez when performing. He served in the British Army ...

, Max Miller,

Max Bygraves Walter William "Max" Bygraves (16 October 1922 – 31 August 2012) was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs. He made twenty ''Roya ...

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over eight decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew; 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman; 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working ...

Ken Dodd Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English stand-up comedy, comedian, actor and singer. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer" and was primarily known for his live stand-up comedy, stand-up pe ...

, Max Wall,

Dickie Valentine Richard Bryce ( Maxwell; 4 November 1929 – 6 May 1971), known professionally as Dickie Valentine, was a British pop singer who enjoyed great popularity in Britain during the 1950s. In addition to several other Top Ten hit singles, Valentine h ...

, the Ray Ellington Quartet,

and

Dorothy Squires Dorothy Squires (born Edna May Squires, 25 March 1915 – 14 April 1998) was a Welsh singer. Her early successes were achieved with " The Gypsy", " A Tree in the Meadow" and " I'm Walking Behind You" by her partner Billy Reid, and " Say It w ...

(1952), Laurel and Hardy on a return visit (1954),

Al Martino Jasper Cini (October 7, 1927 – October 13, 2009), known professionally as Al Martino, was an American traditional pop and standards singer. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid-1970s, being described as "one o ...

, Alma Cogan,

Terry-Thomas Terry-Thomas (born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens; 10 July 1911 – 8 January 1990) was an English character actor and comedian who became internationally known through his films during the 1950s and 1960s. He often portrayed disreputable members ...

(1955) and

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

(1959). The Chiswick Empire closed on 29 June 1959 with a week of performances by the American pianist

. The structure was demolished within a month and Empire House, an office building, erected on the site. In 1983

Derek Newark Derek John Newark (8 June 1933 – 11 August 1998) was an English actor in television, film and theatre. Career Newark began his working life as a soldier in the Coldstream Guards before joining the Royal Artillery. However, he wanted to beco ...

and Caroline Quentin appeared in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

television play ''Hollywood Hits Chiswick'', which imagined W.C. Fields revisiting the Empire and finding a supermarket built in its place. File:Chico Marx Chiswick Empire 1949.jpg, Poster for

, 1949 File:Liberace Chiswick Empire 1959.jpg, Poster for

, 1959

Peter Blake mural (2017)

In 2017 the pop artist Sir Peter Blake, a resident of Chiswick since 1957 and who saw Max Miller at the Chiswick Empire, created a Sgt. Pepper-like

collage Collage (, from the , "to glue" or "to stick together") is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assembly of different forms, thus creating a new whole. (Compare with pasti ...

mural under the railway arches at Turnham Green tube station which featured some of the singers, actors, comedians and music hall artists who had performed at the Chiswick Empire including Marie Lloyd, Cliff Richard, Arthur Askey, Laurel and Hardy, Tommy Cooper, Max Wall, Liberace, Terry-Thomas, George Formby, Peter Sellers, Max Miller, Morecambe and Wise, Vesta Tilley,

Wilson, Keppel and Betty Wilson, Keppel and Betty formed a popular British music hall and vaudeville act in the middle decades of the 20th century. They capitalised on the fashion for Ancient Egyptian imagery following the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. The "Sa ...

and others. Prints of the mural were sold to raise money for the redevelopment of the ‘piazza’ area in Chiswick.Auction of Peter Blake artist’s proofs to support Chiswick ‘piazza’ on Turnham Green – ''The Chiswick Herald'', 6 December 2018
/ref>

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiswick Empire Chiswick Buildings and structures in Chiswick Theatres in London Former theatres in England 1912 establishments in England 1912 establishments Theatres completed in 1912 Buildings and structures demolished in 1959 Former music hall venues in the United Kingdom Former theatres in London