Gaumont Stoke-on-Trent

The Gordon Theatre stood on Wolfe Street in Stoke-on-Trent, now part of Kingsway. It began as the Crown Theatre in 1897, a wooden building that seated about 1,100 people. In 1900 it became the Gordon Theatre, designed by George F. Ward, with a grand auditorium seating around 2,000. The theatre’s name came from the Gordon Hotel opposite, which honoured General Gordon of Khartoum. A bust of General Gordon once sat above the main entrance. The venue changed names and uses over the decades. It became the Hippodrome Theatre in 1908, focusing on variety shows and early films. In 1919 it was converted into a cinema by Biocolour Picture Theatres, and later taken over by Gaumont-British in 1926. A major refurbishment in 1951 replaced its Victorian decoration with a modern Streamline Moderne style. The Gaumont reopened in 1952 with a showing of *The Greatest Show on Earth*. The cinema closed in 1961 and was demolished the following year. Shops now occupy the site, but the street still carries the memory of the theatre’s past. The Gordon Hotel remains across the road, a quiet reminder of the building that once stood there.