The Opera House was erected by the Workington and District Liberal Company Ltd and opened by them on April 18th 1887, as the Queens Jubilee Hall. The architects were Messrs. T.L.Banks and Townshead of Whitehaven and London and according to a press statement made by the firm, the Hall was to seat one thousand and five in the front gallery, seven hundred and eighty five in the second gallery and four hundred on the platform.
The Queens Hall became the home of all concerts, political meetings and musical events in the town. Stanley Rogers, a Newcastle upon Tyne promoter and manager had taken control of the building for films and Variety before he transferred his Queens Life Motion Pictures to the Carnegie Hall in the town in 1909. Rogers concentrated on live shows at the venue but when he returned to the North East just before the War, the Bayliff family from Workington bought the building.
Many improvements were made at this time including six new dressing rooms and under the stage a room for the stage manager, orchestra and a props room. It is probably around this time that the name was changed to “Opera House”, as the building had been redecorated and undergone many changes to give it a new image and facilities fit for the town. The Bayliff family had also taken control of the Theatre Royal in Workington (which was showing films at the time of the Opera House take over, being a much smaller venue) and all went well until the death of Mr James Bayliff.
The Trustees of his estate decided to have the theatres sold at auction and a fascinating account of the time, reveals that all the principal Cinema owners in the area bid against each other, until the Graves family (owners of the towns Oxford Cinema and the nearby Empire Theatre in Maryport) bought both theatres for £24,100 at the sale in 1926.
On Monday 31st of October 1927, a review “Laughter First” was occupying the boards and it had an excellent reception. However the next day the Opera House was a scene of destruction, as a fire had broken out during the night and it destroyed most of the building. All the companies’ props and scenery were ruined and the town’s folk began to raise money to help them out.
The Opera house was rebuilt using some of the outer walls and it re-opened on March the 4th 1929. Some of the original decoration from the building can be traced on the outside back wall of the theatre and detail of the original gallery position, observed from the void under the circle floor.
With the rebuilding, the balcony had gone and in its place one great Circle had been created with a much larger proscenium. The decoration was simple but included an art deco sun burst ceiling, typical of the Cine Variety architecture to follow but rare in the UK for 1929. Contemporary plans seem to indicate mock windows (probably back lit) on the anti proscenium walls which may not have been executed at this time. Certainly the Graves family did engage in some modernisation of all of their cinemas and theatres after war time building restrictions were lifted and at with the arrival of Cinemascope films in the nine tine fifties. To date the architect for the rebuild of the Opera House in 1929 has not been confirmed; however clues on available plans will no doubt be traced.
Certainly the plaster detail was of a high quality and probably came from Alexander’s or Webster Davidson &Co both firms from the North East and both highly regarded in their field. The builders were J. & W. Lowry of Newcastle upon Tyne who were responsible for many Civic and Commercial buildings, including the Laing art Gallery and Fenwick’s Department store in Newcastle.
The Opera House screened the Jazz Singer and was fitted for sound however it remained the home of live entertainment in the area for the next twenty five years or so.
Rep went down very well in Workington and one company, The Frank H Fortescue Players toured there many times and when they finally left in 1952 they had completed a fourteen month stay.
The writing was on the wall for live theatre at the Opera House however and even a return to films didn’t bring in the crowds. The Graves owned Ritz Cinema in the town with a capacity for fourteen hundred patrons and a WurliTzer Organ was the preferred venue for the big screen scene.
The Graves family were at a loss as to what to do with the opera House and it was only on a trip to Morecambe in 1961 that they witnessed the crowds pouring into an old entertainment house, they saw the answer, BINGO.
Once the big game arrived the House Full signs were dusted off and the Opera House never looked back. The Amateur Operatic Groups were given space in the Carnegie Theatre which had been a cinema for fifty years, but seated only a few hundred and has a very small stage with no fly tower and limited front of house facilities.
The Opera house remained a Bingo hall for over forty years, much loved by followers of the game but forgotten by most West Cumbrians, eventually closing around Easter in 2004. A new flat floor venue was built around the corner keeping the game available to local players.
For the last six years the Opera House has been secure with electrical supplies intact and although there have been some plaster falls the building seems to be in reasonable repair given the maintenance received by its owners over the last eighty years of ownership.
Lots of original detail from 1929 survives including the Sun burst ceiling, decorative plaster and circle front light fittings and although the main frontage was converted to retail use there are still good public areas and entrance space. The Opera House has a large stage with fly tower and safety curtain, with many dressing rooms and storage areas. Its short “front to back” design creates very good viewing from all seating on a very relaxed rake.
