tarboat's photos with the keyword: faience

The original cinema on this site in Southall was the Paragon Palace of 1912 which was taken over by the United Picture Theatres Ltd. chain in around 1928, with the view to demolish it and build a brand new cinema. Architect George Coles was appointed the circuit’s architect and UPT gave him the commission to design the first new cinema for the circuit (all the other cinemas were takeovers of older cinemas and theatres). The Palace Cinema was built in 1929 on an enlarged site of the former Paragon Palace Cinema, and it opened on 30th November 1929. Unfortunately, UPT overstretched their finances and the company were taken over by the Gaumont British Theatres Ltd. chain in April 1930 and they operated the Palace Cinema from July 1930. The cinema’s style in the form of a Chinese temple is unique in Britain. Its exotic tiled exterior with a red pagoda roof complete with dragons have long made the cinema a well-loved local landmark. Inside the building, the Chinese style continues, but a little more restrained. The terracotta faience and decorative features are the work of the Hathern Station Brick and Terra Cotta Company. It is listed Grade II*. After a number of owners and names it closed as the Liberty Cinema in 1982 and was converted to an indoor market. In 2001 it reopened as a three screen cinema but this failed in 2010 and was converted back to a market.

Carpet centre on Mill Street in Crewe. The cream terracotta faience is unusual for the area. The building has a date of 1937 at the bottom of the black central rectangle. I wonder whether it was shops when built?

A gorgeous small town cinema seating 897 in stalls and balcony, The Regal Cinema opened in 1933 to the design of a Mr Riley. Bought by Zetters Bingo in 1979, the stalls area became a bingo club, with a 226-seat cinema operating in the circle. The bingo has now gone and the stalls area is a bar, whilst the cinema has recently seen a major refurbishment under new owners and reopened in March 2013 seating about 120.

Boarded up exit at the former Albion Picture House, Castleford.

The Oxford Street / Whitworth Street corner block of the Refuge Building was built to the designs of Alfred Waterhouse in 1891-5. The exterior was Doulton terracotta, whilst the interior features extensive glazed terracotta and tiles from Burmantoft of Leeds. This is the vestibule of the corner entrance into what is now the Palace Hotel.

I haven't seen a garage with faience before, and this example on Doncaster Road, Askern, is a gem. It is good that the modern signing on the frontage replicates the colours, if not quite the font, of the original. The buildings appear to have been erected in the 1920s. From the Doncaster Free Press: Claybourn’s was established by Jack Ernest Claybourn, who was born in Askern in 1893 and was a sergeant mechanic with the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. He returned to Askern after the war and opened a bicycle and motorcycle repair shop. After he was married in 1922 his father-in-law, Sydney Webster, helped him establish a motor garage on Doncaster Road, Askern. The business thrived and in 1931, moved to premises at the corner of Hall Gate and Waterdale.

Driving through Middleport I spotted this doorway on the premises of Impact Motor Services and just had to stop and make a photograph. The Art Deco lights and the (sadly altered) door with the detailing of the faience make for a very pleasing design. I always think of Co-operative stores when I see such buildings, but this one seems just that bit better. I wonder whether the lettering/design on either side of the lower doorway could be a clue. SCI = Stoke-on-Trent Co-operative Industrial Society?