ent 5 The Gordon Theatre – a new enterprise for the people of Stoke.

In the early 1950s children’s cinema matinees had become the norm and for the town of Stoke it was the ABC (Associated British Cinemas). Over a thousand children packed into the ‘ABC Minors Club’ at the old Majestic Cinema in Campbell Place, where children would hand over their precious six pence for a seat in the stalls and for the better-off nine pence for the circle. In the 1950’s these Saturday matinees became popular throughout the UK.
This article is a personal reflection of the author on the Saturday morning matinee at the Majestic cinema in Stoke. Quite a few surprises, even a letter from the once cinema manager who was called Aunty May who I traced living in Devon since retirement.
Memories kept flooding back regarding so many activities held, fancy dress, Christmas party, on state for a free ticket to celebrate the birthday children and much more. So, if interested in what the 1950s children got up to in those days, a great read and an eye opener.

Once the Hanley Borough Council had taken over the firmer Queens Hotel in Hanley in 1886 from the brink of bankrupsy, thoughts turned to the need for large assembly hall. Usually, town councils frequently put out work of this magnitude to external consultants but in this case the brief was given to the borough engineer and surveyor, Mr Joseph Lobley. The site was to the rear of the town hall, situated on the former bowling green to the Queens Hotel. The new Assembly Hall had to be of a standard to compliment the new town hall and the reputation of Hanley, the most important and prestigious town in the Potteries.

The main feature of this concert hall has always been its outstanding acoustics, valued by world renowned artists. The main objective of Dr Talbot’s was to research the basic planning issues from the start. This meant a visit to the National Archives at Kew where discovered was the full details with drawings of how and why the Victoria Hall was designed and the impeccable dedication in getting it right by the architect, not a specialist but by the Hanley Borough’s own architect. The original name was to be The Assembly Room, but this was changed as it opened in the year of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. One other fact was that Elton John appeared there and performed to an audience totally overcome by his outlandish performance. Want to know more – well order your own copy with photographs.