‘Limelights and shadows’: popular and visual culture in South West England, 1880-1914 Submitted by Rosalind Claire Leveridge to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English in May 2011. This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all the material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has been previously submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. ……………………………………………………………………………………… 1 Abstract The late nineteenth century and early twentieth century were an important period for popular shows involving the moving and projected image, yet there have been few sustained studies that have mapped optical entertainments systematically outside London or that have analysed the influence of such shows on early film exhibition. This thesis has profiled the popular and visual culture of five contrasting South West locations during this period, tracing the development and distribution of magic lantern shows and dioramas as well as identifying the local and touring companies who hosted film on its arrival in the region. Using the local press, the trade press, contemporary publications and ephemera, this thesis has reconstructed an account of local shows and culture which not only deepens our understanding of popular visual entertainments in regional contexts, but which also serves to stand as a comparison to other established urban and metropolitan paradigms and thus to contribute to a wider and more complex national picture. It advances the argument for a broader classification of such shows in response to local findings and for a more nuanced and detailed appraisal and understanding of their provenance and profiles, and the role film played within them. In addition, this thesis interrogates early film exhibition in these resorts following the move to fixed-venue cinemas in the late 1900s and investigates the arrival of cinema and its emergence as a fledgling industry in the region. It offers an overview of investment into the business locally and evidences the varied set of partnerships and individuals responsible for financing the first cinemas here. Responses to the new technologies and local modifications to business models for cinemas and film exhibition are analysed and their diversity examined. Managerial relationships with communities are evidenced as an important contributory factor to the success of many local cinemas, permitting adaptations to the needs of patrons which boosted audiences and increased revenue. The variety of local interpretations of cinema discovered here reflects the social and cultural diversity of these selected sites, and is a key finding of this thesis. 2 Acknowledgements For the life-changing opportunity to work on this project, I am indebted to Jane Spencer, Steve Neale, John Plunkett, and Joe Kember at the University of Exeter, who appointed me to the task. Nor would my participation in this research have been possible without the funding from the AHRC, for which I am sincerely grateful. Thanks are especially due to Joe Kember for sharing so much knowledge with me and for gently guiding me through the whole process with immeasurable kindness, tolerance and patience. To John Plunkett, thanks are due too for all his cheerful guidance. During the course of my research I have been fortunate to come into contact with a great many enthusiastic and well-informed people who have shared their passion and their knowledge with me. In all the research centres, libraries and archives I have worked, I have found committed and energetic staff willing to help. These include Mike Rickard at the Bill Douglas Centre, University of Exeter, who has always found just the right text; Mark Pool and the staff at Torquay Local Studies Library for their excellent local knowledge and warm welcome; Barry Chandler and Geoff Old at the Torquay Museum who allowed me special access to their slides and photographic resources; Naomi Ayres at the Athenaeum in Barnstaple; members of the Sid Vale Association and volunteers at the Sidmouth Museum who allowed me to access their superb newspaper archives; staff at Sidmouth Library; the Cornish Studies Centre, Redruth; the Morrab Library, Penzance for their provision of unique images; the British Film Institute Library, London; the National Archives, Kew; the staff at Weston-Super Mare Local Studies Library for their patient help; Weston-Super-Mare Museum; the Main Library at Exeter University; Clive Polden at the Cinema Theatre Association, for patiently searching, and for finding, marvellous images of old cinemas. Other individuals have played a significant role in the production of this thesis. I would like to thank in particular Edwin Dawes, for his advice and images from his personal collection, David Clover, the great great grandson of Alfred West, for information about “Our Navy”, and Sally, Ron and Gareth Nelson, for privileged access to their own family archive of ephemera, diaries and photographs relating to the Walford family. Finally, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to all my family without whose love, encouragement and technical support I could not have managed this mountain. My grateful thanks to you all. 3 Table of Contents Title page 1 Abstract 2 Acknowledgements 3 Table of Contents 4 List of Illustrations 5 Abbreviations 8 Introduction 11 Chapter 1 “Of gay crowds and boisterous fun”: leisure and liminality in Weston-Super-Mare and Torquay, 1880-1914. 43 Chapter 2 “To elevate the masses, not just the leisured classes”: mapping the magic lantern in the age of film, 1896-1914. 96 Chapter 3 “Guests in other people houses”: early exhibition contexts for film in South West coastal resorts, 1896-1909. 152 Chapter 4 “Proud of our little local Palace”: cinema in the South West resorts, 1909-1914. 210 Chapter 5 “Enter the dreamhouse”: films and their audiences, 1909-1914. 256 Conclusion 310 Appendix One 326 Bibliography 330 4 List of Illustrations Introduction Fig.1. Map of Western England 1893, showing the resorts of Sidmouth, Torquay, Penzance, Barnstaple and Weston-Super-Mare. Fig.2. Population figures for South West resorts for 1901 and 1911. Fig.3. St. John’s Hall. Courtesy of the Morrab Library, Penzance. Fig.4. Grand Pier, Weston-Super-Mare. Courtesy of the Cinema Theatre Association. Fig. 5. Torquay Harbour. Courtesy of Torquay Museum. Chapter One Fig. 1.1. Torquay Regatta fair. Courtesy of Torquay Museum. Fig. 1.2. Marine Parade and Sands, Weston-Super-Mare. Courtesy of Weston-Super- Mare Library. Fig. 1.3. Birnbeck Pier, Weston-Super-Mare. Courtesy of the Cinema Theatre Association. Fig. 1.4. Weston Sands. Courtesy of Weston-Super-Mare Museum. Fig. 1.5. “Professor Bauer and his performing donkey”, c.1903. Courtesy of Weston- Super-Mare Museum. Chapter Two Fig. 2.1. “D.H.Evans & Co Ltd.,” Hearth and Home, 3 December 1896. Fig. 2.2. “At the Magic Lantern Show,” Illustrated Chips, 23 May 1896. Fig. 2.3. Torquay Museum. Courtesy of Torquay Museum. Fig. 2.4. Herbert Ponting. Courtesy of the Bill Douglas Centre, University of Exeter. Fig. 2.5. Programme for the Walford Family. Courtesy of the Nelson (Walford) family archive. 5 Chapter Three Fig. 3.1. “The Theatrograph,” North Devon Herald, 1 October 1896. Fig. 3.2. Cover to programme from David Devant’s touring company, visit to Exmouth 29 August 1898. Courtesy of Edwin Dawes. Fig. 3.3. Inside page of programme from David Devant’s touring company, visit to Exmouth 29 August 1898. Courtesy of Edwin Dawes. Fig. 3.4. Centre pages of programme from David Devant’s touring company, visit to Exmouth 29 August 1898. Courtesy of Edwin Dawes. Fig. 3.5. The Theatre Royal and Opera House, Torquay. Courtesy of Torquay Museum. Fig. 3.6. The Bath Saloons, Torquay. Postcard from author’s collection. Chapter Four Fig. 4.1. Advertisement for Shanly’s skating rink and cinematographic room at the Victoria Hall, Weston-Super-Mare Holiday Guide 1910, courtesy of Weston-Super- Mare Library. Fig. 4.2. Advertisement for Shanly’s skating rink and cinematographic room at the Victoria Hall, Weston-Super-Mare Holiday Guide 1910, courtesy of Weston-Super- Mare Library. Fig. 4.3. “Our Weekly Whirligig,” The Bioscope, 28 April 1910. Fig. 4.4. Torquay Pavilion. Courtesy of the Cinema Theatre Association. Fig 4.5. Penzance Pavilion. Courtesy of The Morrab Library, Penzance. Fig. 4.6. Knightstone Pavilion. Courtesy of the Cinema Theatre Association. Fig. 4.8. The Drill Hall, Sidmouth. Courtesy of the Sid Vale Association. Fig. 4.8. The Picturedrome, Penzance. Courtesy of The Morrab Library, Penzance. Fig. 4.9. The Regent Street Picture Theatre, Weston-Super-Mare. Courtesy of the Cinema Theatre Association. Fig. 4.10. The Concert Hall, Torquay Pavilion. Courtesy of the Cinema Theatre Association. 6 Fig. 4.11. Interior of Pavilion Grand Pier, Weston-Super-Mare. Courtesy of the Cinema Theatre Association. Fig. 4.12. The Sidmouth Cinema. Courtesy of the Sid Vale Association. Fig. 4.13. “Saved by Fire”. The Electric Theatre, Weston-Super-Mare. Courtesy of Weston-Super-Mare Library. Fig. 4.14. Coming out of a children’s matinee at Bideford Cinema, 1912. Courtesy of Peter Christie. Chapter Five Fig. 5.1. Early advertisement for the new Lion Picture Palace, Barnstaple, North Devon Journal, 24 November 1910. Fig. 5.2. The Electric Theatre, Weston-Super-Mare. Fig. 5.3. Pathé advertisement for the Delhi Durbar films, The Bioscope, 19 October 1911. Fig.5.4. Empire Delhi Durbar Films advertisement, The Bioscope, 16 November 1911 Fig.5.5. Cinema publicity programme: Peckham Picture Playhouse, London, 1913. Courtesy of the Bill Douglas Centre, University of Exeter. Fig.5.6. Queen Bess, Film publicity book.