Historian and CovSoc committee member, David Fry, celebrates the 90th anniversary of the last Coventry Hippodrome. David writes…..
This year marks the ninetieth anniversary of the beginning of the construction of the last of the Coventry Hippodromes. This fact was brought home to me as I read a short article by the son of the man who was responsible for the second and third Hippodromes, in a booklet published in 1968*.
Many Coventrians will remember the third Hippodrome, but few are alive today who knew of the second and only historians will be familiar with the first.
The first Hippodrome was a corrugated iron building erected in Pool Meadow in 1903, today it would be in Fairfax Street at the eastern corner of the bus station building. Though some might quibble that Sanger’s Great Hippodrome and Circus of 1864 in Pool Meadow and many subsequent appearances had a preceding claim.
But have you wondered why they initiated the name Hippodrome, which was traditionally an arena for horse racing? Unlike the subsequent hippodromes, the Pool Meadow building’s auditorium contained an ‘equestrian ring’ as well as a ‘substantial stage’. It was planned to contain an audience of 1,200: 500 in the gallery, 400 in the pit, and 300 in the higher-priced seats. The entertainment was a mixture of the earlier Sanger-type circus and the music hall, with some of those managing it having previous experience with Barnum and Bailey’s circus. There may be a touch of Barnum and Bailey hyperbole in the potential audience capacity given the building only measured 120ft by 60ft. However, it was big enough to make the annual Great Coventry Fair less great than before.
The Hippodrome opened on August Bank Holiday 1903 with a twice-nightly programme at 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm, charging from 2d to 1s 6d for entry. Amongst the attractions were also films that included the Gordon Bennett Motor Race. You didn’t need to worry about your bicycle, which was stored for free.
Less than a year later, in March 1904, plans for a new Hippodrome were being made by the manager of the Pool Meadow Hippodrome. He was later joined by Samuel Newsome and some of his fellow watchmakers who were looking for an alternative enterprise given the competition from new watchmaking factories. The idea was to buy up the old Hippodrome and run it while building a new theatre in Queen Victoria Road to be called the Palace. Only a month later they were talking about a location in Ford Street opposite Wheatley Street School. By July they had eventually settled on a site in Hales Street, opposite the fire station, and obtained planning permission.
Like the first Hippodrome, it was intended to have a circus-style ring as well as a full-sized stage. Coventry architect Thomas Francis Tickner had prepared the design. The optimistic intention was to open for business by Christmas 1904, a target that was missed by two years. Building did not start until September 1905, using new plans by architects Harrison and Hatterell, and construction was due to be completed by the end of 1906. The plans appeared to have been altered so that there was no circus-style ring, just a large stage with seating for 1,500, with also room for those standing.
After a couple of delays to the December opening, the Hippodrome was finally unveiled on the last day of 1906. The ceremony was preceded by the Coventry Military Band leading a torchlight procession from Greyfriars Green. There were 100 performers on the night (though many of those made up the choir). Alcohol was available but it was not to be consumed in the auditorium, and the theatre was to be a non-smoking venue.
Sam Newsome and his directors did not rest on their laurels. Given the success of this permanent Hippodrome compared to the original flimsy structure in Pool Meadow (soon demolished in the following year), they were already thinking ahead and bought a plot of land adjoining the Hales Street premises soon after the end of the First World War. But it was not until almost two decades later that they launched into the third Hippodrome.
In May 1936 it was reported that Sir Alfred Herbert was buying up properties around the Chauntry area of Coventry, described as one of the worst slums in the city. He was going to clear the area and create Lady Herbert’s Garden and almshouses. It also mentions that he was buying the Hippodrome to demolish and add to the scheme, and, almost as an aside, there would be a brand new Hippodrome adjacent. The site was cleared by September, and building of the new Hippodrome began in December. The architect of the new £80,000 theatre was the son of the architect Walter Hattrell who designed the second Hippodrome.
The old Hippodrome continued to operate throughout the building works, and it was only with the opening of the new Hippodrome on 1 November 1937 that performances ceased. The new building boasted 2000 seats with space for 500 more to stand. The distance between the back of the theatre and the stage was the same as its predecessor, so preserving the sense of intimacy. The inside was decorated in ‘mushroom pink with natural birch panelling’. Both heating and air conditioning services had been installed as well as a broadcast studio. The BBC would be broadcasting a performance by the theatre orchestra on Christmas Day. It may be a coincidence that Charles Shadwell, who had run the house orchestra at the Hippodrome since 1931, had been recently appointed the BBC Director of Music!
The demolition of the third Coventry Hippodrome took place in 2002 to make way for the Millennium Square. By then it had gone through several changes of name and had finished as a bingo hall. Nevertheless, for many Coventrians there were fond memories tied up in the building and its proposed demolition brought a wave of protests. Such debates are at the heart of what the Coventry Society tries to adjudicate, and the arguments would take up too much space here. However, there is an interesting aerial photo of when the Hippodrome was first erected, with the half-demolished old Hippodrome alongside (see below). I wonder if King Charles (or Prince as he was then) would describe it as “a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much loved Coventry”.
NB Samuel H Newsome (1901- 1970), son of Samuel T Newsome, wrote his reminiscences about the three Hippodromes in 1968 with some useful leads but a few errors of fact. Amongst his many other achievements, Samuel T took part in six Le Mans races with a best position of fifth in 1932.
*Coventry Remembered – Members of the Association of Coventrians (1968)