Intro
So this one I have been holding back for sometime; a decision I made in a vain attempt to try to provide some protection to the building (despite being posted in other places since my visit). Buckinghamshire Council have a proud and rich heritage of erasing and destroying its historical places; to build bland, drab buildings or soon to fail projects, so in my eyes; trying to do my bit to slow down the decay of this building meant a lot to me.
Fast forward over four years since my first visit; and having helped to lead an Action Group to try to rescue this building and garner some sort of interest. It’s 100 years old and stands proud on our High Street; with its tall façade looking over the surrounding buildings. Yes it is quite modernised, and quite bland in places; but to me it screams all the Hallmarks of a Concert Venue such as an O2 Academy or something along those lines; which Aylesbury seriously lacks. We have a large theatre; and a 100 person venue but nothing in the 500-1000 region which would bring life back onto our failing High Street and bring some culture back into our town; even a Bowling Alley showed some interest. Frankly anything to keep this place standing would be good.
The Town Council were all for retaining this building, but its owners; the Buckinghamshire Council were hell bent on its destruction; they simply could not wait to get their claws into this place (pardon the pun) and much digging unearthed plans to demolish it way back in 2012 (the site closed in 2019) and seemingly led by Martin Tett who doesn’t live in Aylesbury.
On the two or so meetings I met; it seems that Aylesbury Town Council were BLOCKED from seeing the Freedom of Information Report by Buckinghamshire County Council; and Bucks refused to show anybody any site inspection reports and lied their way through. As you will see from my photos dating from 2020-2024; you will see that whilst decay both physical and natural decay were setting in, it really is holding the test of time.
I’m sure we know a thing or two about how quickly a building decays; and this one hasn’t decayed too badly.
Roll on to October 2024; I attended a meeting with Aylesbury Town Council; still largely against the demolition of the site and feel it could be used elsewhere and also cited that a borescope should be fed above the suspended ceiling in the auditorium to see what remains of the original Art Deco plasterwork. This meeting took place with two days of the consultation period to run and with a few dozen signatures, the council said there “were no oppositions from anyone” and pushed through the decision to demolish the site 1 day early and closed the discussion; again 1 day early.
So; this huge public space will be lost forever for……. A footpath, a few car parking spaces and some “pop up shops”. The main reason; being that they want to create a footpath from The High Street to The Exchange Car Park; something which exists further up the road. You couldn’t make this up, and all of these cunts in the council are so proud with themselves and are all smiles about their “fantastic schemes”. Fuck off Tett…. Oh and you Rob Butler….
The Explore
Rant over; it was an interesting site and the report has been a long time coming. Interestingly; between my visits; someone had kicked down the stud walling separating the old circle from the auditorium. This was put in for both heat conservation and asbestos hiding purposes.
I initially visited this with @mookster back in 2020 and some other non-members. I have been back several times over the years and spent some time here. I particularly like the original seats at the back. In fact I fucking love them!
It was nice wondering round a site that’s been there my entire life. I have many friends who worked here; including my friend who died in 2012 (RIP Sean you legend) and many funny stories. I attended a crèche in the early 1990s at the Blue Arrow Gym opposite who had purchased Radio Microphones on the same frequency as the Bingo Hall. A fitness class was taking place when a group of angry elderly ladies stormed into the gym and were appalled that they couldn’t hear their numbers over the classes! Aha!
The History
The Grand Pavilion Cinema originally opened on 2nd March 1925 with 800 seats. The architect was C.H. Wright.
Later; “The Grand Pavilion” was re-named “The Pavilion Cinema” and was taken over by the London & District Cinemas Ltd chain. It closed in October 1936 for reconstruction to the plans of architect Robert Cromie for the London & District Cinemas Ltd chain. The Pavilion Cinema had a new seating capacity for 1,234 when it re-opened on 4th January 1937. The facade is taller than surrounding buildings, making it stand out, but apart from this, the tall facade which contained windows served no other purpose than simply cosmetics.
The Pavilion was taken over by the Granada Theatres Ltd on 24th November 1946 and was re-named Granada on 15th June 1947. The Granada Cinema was closed on 7th October 1972. It was soon converted into a Granada Bingo Club, and was later taken over by Gala Bingo from May 1991. In January 2019 it was announced the Gala would close in February 2019. The demolition of the building; so that the clowncil can build a small section of tarmac has been approved and will begin in late 2024.
Onto the photos, between 2020 and 2024
2020
2023
2024 Shit phone photo
Thanks for looking; more at:
www.flickr.com
So this one I have been holding back for sometime; a decision I made in a vain attempt to try to provide some protection to the building (despite being posted in other places since my visit). Buckinghamshire Council have a proud and rich heritage of erasing and destroying its historical places; to build bland, drab buildings or soon to fail projects, so in my eyes; trying to do my bit to slow down the decay of this building meant a lot to me.
Fast forward over four years since my first visit; and having helped to lead an Action Group to try to rescue this building and garner some sort of interest. It’s 100 years old and stands proud on our High Street; with its tall façade looking over the surrounding buildings. Yes it is quite modernised, and quite bland in places; but to me it screams all the Hallmarks of a Concert Venue such as an O2 Academy or something along those lines; which Aylesbury seriously lacks. We have a large theatre; and a 100 person venue but nothing in the 500-1000 region which would bring life back onto our failing High Street and bring some culture back into our town; even a Bowling Alley showed some interest. Frankly anything to keep this place standing would be good.
The Town Council were all for retaining this building, but its owners; the Buckinghamshire Council were hell bent on its destruction; they simply could not wait to get their claws into this place (pardon the pun) and much digging unearthed plans to demolish it way back in 2012 (the site closed in 2019) and seemingly led by Martin Tett who doesn’t live in Aylesbury.
On the two or so meetings I met; it seems that Aylesbury Town Council were BLOCKED from seeing the Freedom of Information Report by Buckinghamshire County Council; and Bucks refused to show anybody any site inspection reports and lied their way through. As you will see from my photos dating from 2020-2024; you will see that whilst decay both physical and natural decay were setting in, it really is holding the test of time.
I’m sure we know a thing or two about how quickly a building decays; and this one hasn’t decayed too badly.
Roll on to October 2024; I attended a meeting with Aylesbury Town Council; still largely against the demolition of the site and feel it could be used elsewhere and also cited that a borescope should be fed above the suspended ceiling in the auditorium to see what remains of the original Art Deco plasterwork. This meeting took place with two days of the consultation period to run and with a few dozen signatures, the council said there “were no oppositions from anyone” and pushed through the decision to demolish the site 1 day early and closed the discussion; again 1 day early.
So; this huge public space will be lost forever for……. A footpath, a few car parking spaces and some “pop up shops”. The main reason; being that they want to create a footpath from The High Street to The Exchange Car Park; something which exists further up the road. You couldn’t make this up, and all of these cunts in the council are so proud with themselves and are all smiles about their “fantastic schemes”. Fuck off Tett…. Oh and you Rob Butler….
The Explore
Rant over; it was an interesting site and the report has been a long time coming. Interestingly; between my visits; someone had kicked down the stud walling separating the old circle from the auditorium. This was put in for both heat conservation and asbestos hiding purposes.
I initially visited this with @mookster back in 2020 and some other non-members. I have been back several times over the years and spent some time here. I particularly like the original seats at the back. In fact I fucking love them!
It was nice wondering round a site that’s been there my entire life. I have many friends who worked here; including my friend who died in 2012 (RIP Sean you legend) and many funny stories. I attended a crèche in the early 1990s at the Blue Arrow Gym opposite who had purchased Radio Microphones on the same frequency as the Bingo Hall. A fitness class was taking place when a group of angry elderly ladies stormed into the gym and were appalled that they couldn’t hear their numbers over the classes! Aha!
The History
The Grand Pavilion Cinema originally opened on 2nd March 1925 with 800 seats. The architect was C.H. Wright.
Later; “The Grand Pavilion” was re-named “The Pavilion Cinema” and was taken over by the London & District Cinemas Ltd chain. It closed in October 1936 for reconstruction to the plans of architect Robert Cromie for the London & District Cinemas Ltd chain. The Pavilion Cinema had a new seating capacity for 1,234 when it re-opened on 4th January 1937. The facade is taller than surrounding buildings, making it stand out, but apart from this, the tall facade which contained windows served no other purpose than simply cosmetics.
The Pavilion was taken over by the Granada Theatres Ltd on 24th November 1946 and was re-named Granada on 15th June 1947. The Granada Cinema was closed on 7th October 1972. It was soon converted into a Granada Bingo Club, and was later taken over by Gala Bingo from May 1991. In January 2019 it was announced the Gala would close in February 2019. The demolition of the building; so that the clowncil can build a small section of tarmac has been approved and will begin in late 2024.
Onto the photos, between 2020 and 2024
2020
2023
2024 Shit phone photo
Thanks for looking; more at:
The Pavilion Cinema (Granada/Gala) Aylesbury
Explore this photo album by Harry Seager on Flickr!
www.flickr.com
