Monument record 7198/0/132 - Odeon Cinema, Gold Street

The Kettering Odeon originated as the Victoria Picture House, situated at Victoria Hall, a Victorian 850-seat former public hall. It was already in use as a cinema by 1926. The building was closed for six months in 1936, while both the interior and exterior were completely modernised to designs by Harry Weedon. The Odeon cinema opened on 19 September 1936 with a brash new frontage which was designed to draw attention to the cinema from a distance. Its Odeon sign was situated high up on a side wall, reinforced by horizontal bands overlain with neon tubing. The main facade of the cinema was rather plain, with a large recessed central window above the canopy. Inside, an extra 240 seats were added to the auditorium and long strips of concealed lighting extended along the side walls and ceiling towards the screen. The cinema closed in October 1960 and became the Top Rank Club for Bingo. Following the closure of the bingo hall in the early 1970s, the building was sold to Kettering Council and was subsequently demolished in 1974 to make way for a retail development.

{1}, {2} The Kettering Odeon originated as the Victoria Picture House, a Victorian 850-seat former public hall. In 1936, the building was closed for six months while both the interior and exterior were completely modernised to designs by Harry Weedon. The Odeon cinema opened on 19 September 1936 with a brash new frontage which was designed to draw attention to the cinema from a distance. Its Odeon sign was situated high up on a side wall, reinforced by horizontal bands overlain with neon tubing. The main facade of the cinema was rather plain, with a large recessed central window above the canopy. Inside, an extra 240 seats were added to the auditorium and long strips of concealed lighting extended along the side walls and ceiling towards the screen. The cinema closed in October 1960 and became the Top Rank Club for Bingo. Following the closure of the bingo hall in the early 1970s, the building was sold to Kettering Council and was subsequently demolished in 1974 to make way for a retail development.

{3} An Ordnance Survey map dating to 1926 shows that Victoria Hall was already in use as a cinema by that time, as the depiction of the building on the map is clearly labelled "Victoria Hall (cinema)".

<1> Clegg, R. (ed), 1985, Odeon (Book). SNN111574.

<2> Eyles, A., 2002, Odeon Cinemas 1: Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation (Book). SNN111575.

<3> Ordnance Survey, 1926, Third Edition OS Map (Map). SNN54466.

<4> ENGLISH HERITAGE, Pastscape, No. 527653 (Website). SNN109137.

<5> Historic England, Odeon Cinema, Gold Street, Kettering, BF053127 (Archive). SNN114944.

Record last edited

Feb 17 2025 6:58PM