For nearly half a century, the Art Deco temple on Loampit Vale brought world-class entertainment to Lewisham. With a capacity of 3,050 seats, it was one of Britain's largest cinemas when it opened in 1932 β and it became one of South London's most important music venues.
From Gaumont to Odeon
The Lewisham Odeon opened on 12 December 1932 as the Gaumont Palace. The opening bill featured Jessie Matthews in "The Midshipmaid" and Laurence Olivier in "Westward Passage", alongside a stage performance by Bobby Howells' Big Band. Architect W.E. Trent designed the building, his largest cinema commission, with assistance from James Morrison and Keith P. Roberts.
The venue's Art Deco interior featured polished macassar wood panelling, walnut display cases, and decorative panels by artist Frank Barnes. A Compton 3Manual/12Rank organ was installed, opened by Frederick Bayco. The building had its own 200-seat restaurant in the circle foyer, and "Gaumont Palace" blazed in large neon letters above the entrance.
The name changed to the Gaumont Theatre in 1937. It became part of the Rank Organisation in 1941 when Gaumont-British was acquired.
The Fire and Rebirth
On 27 February 1962, disaster struck. During a matinee screening of "The Guns of Navarone", a fire broke out. The blaze caused extensive damage to the rear stalls, and the entire building was badly smoke damaged. The cause was believed to be children who had deliberately started the fire.
A scheduled Ella Fitzgerald concert for that Sunday was transferred to the Trocadero at Elephant and Castle. The venue reopened on 29 July 1962 as the Lewisham Odeon, showing Doris Day in "That Touch of Mink" β plus a surprise screening of the cinema's original 1932 opening film, "The Midshipmaid".
Rock 'n' Roll on the Stage
The Lewisham Odeon's 85-foot wide, 36-foot deep stage was fully equipped for live performances, and from the 1950s onwards it attracted major touring acts. The Beatles played there twice in 1963. Queen performed on 20 December 1979 as part of their Crazy Tour.
The venue witnessed significant moments in British popular music history. Nat King Cole, Johnny Cash, Sarah Vaughan, and Count Basie all performed there. The Rolling Stones, Manfred Mann, and Cliff Richard and The Shadows played the Lewisham stage. Later acts included Deep Purple (12 May 1974), Rod Stewart and The Faces (18 November 1974), Black Sabbath with Van Halen (27 May 1978), Ian Dury and The Blockheads, Dire Straits (18β19 December 1979), The Clash (18 February 1980), Adam and the Ants (29 November 1980), and The Cure (13 October 1979).
The Who performed their final concerts at the venue on 8 and 9 February 1981, closing a chapter in both the band's and the building's history.
The 1956 Rock 'n' Roll Moment
The Lewisham Gaumont was at the centre of early British rock 'n' roll culture. In September 1956, screenings of "Rock Around the Clock" sparked teenage jiving that led to police intervention. An Observer report quoted someone saying: "You should have seen this place last night. Jiving on the stage they were, till the cops came."
The Battle to Save It
The Lewisham Odeon closed on 14 February 1981. Its final films were "Prom Night" and "Love at First Bite". Rank Organisation, which owned the venue, applied three times for a bingo licence β in 1977, 1979, and 1980. Lewisham Council rejected each application, hoping to retain the building as a cinema. Rank proposed converting it into two smaller studio cinemas plus a department store, but this never materialised.
After closure, the restaurant became a bingo club, then the Paradise Garage nightclub, and finally the Pool club.
Final Curtain
The Lewisham Odeon was demolished in June 1991 as part of the Molesworth Street widening scheme. A fragment of the left-hand facade remained on Rennell Street until around 2011. Today, the site forms part of the Lewisham Gateway redevelopment.
The loss of the Lewisham Odeon contributed to a broader picture: in 1930, there were 30 venues showing films in Lewisham. From 2001 to 2015, the borough had no cinema at all β the only London borough in that position.