Argyle Theatre

The Argyle Theatre stood in Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula. It opened in 1868 as a music hall before becoming a theatre. The building had seating for about 800 and long galleries on either side. Its name changed briefly to the Prince Of Wales Theatre in 1876 before reverting to Argyle. The theatre’s auditorium had pillars and narrow side galleries. The theatre became famous under owner Dennis J. Clarke, who managed it from 1888 to 1934. Clarke helped launch many careers, including those of W.C. Fields, Dan Leno, Marie Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin. Stars like Stan Laurel, George Formby Senior and Eric Morecambe & Ernie Wise also performed there early in their careers. George Formby Junior made one of his first appearances in 1921 but was booed off stage. The Argyle also claimed two firsts: England’s earliest moving-picture display outside London in 1896 and the first theatre to host radio broadcasts. The theatre was destroyed by a bomb in 1940 and never reopened. Its shell remained until demolition in 1973, when a department store car park was built on the site. A stone sign from the theatre now stands at the Williamson Art Gallery. The inscription read “Argyle Theatre Of Varieties. Two Performances Nightly.” A play called “Argyle Remembered” was written to honour the theatre’s legacy.