THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE - Findon Guys at the Rivoli

THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

The Rivoli in 1924

FINDON GUYS AT THE RIVOLI

Originally published in the Findon News in June 2006

In May 2006 I mentioned on my Feedback page that the Findon fire-fighters had been called out to the Rivoli cinema in nearby Worthing in 1960. This started the ball rolling and I heard from Jo Harris who at one time ran the stationery and knitting wool shop in the village (and now lives in Findon Valley).

24th May 2006

Hi Valerie,

Love your site-------------I think your garden is a picture------hope it's sheltered from the winds we have been experiencing lately!!

Re: cinema.
Thought you may be interested to know that during the Summer months (weather permitting, of course) the Rivoli had a sliding roof (old-fashioned air-conditioning perhaps?)

Please carry on with the excellent work you do! It's very addictive to log on to. I hardly miss a day.

Jo.

Josephine Harris, Findon Valley, West Sussex.

The Rivoli cinema was built for a Mr. Seebold at a cost of £75,000 and stood on land at Worthing Lodge in Chapel Road (at the corner of North Street). It opened with much excitement and ceremony on 10th March 1924 in the presence of dignitaries from the Worthing Town Council.

The orchestra and staff gave a bouquet to Mrs Seebold upon her arrival on the first night ........ and a bunch of white heather was presented to her husband with wishes of "Good Luck", which were also no doubt gratefully received.

The Rivoli's vestibule with the tea room above

What was the Rivoli like? Well, if you were to enter from the street 82 years ago, you would immediately find yourself standing in the lofty vestibule and waiting area. To give you some idea of the size, it was said to be capable of holding some 200 persons.

There was a spacious tearoom on the first floor, which was formed around the well (overlooking the entrance vestibule).

The magnificence of the booking office and entrance to the Rivoli in its heyday.

The actual auditorium was breathtaking back in 1924 and accommodated a total of 1,700 patrons. 500 were seated in the circle. Six boxes were on the ground floor.

As seen from the stage...the empty auditorium at the Rivoli

The view most of you will remember.

The pipe organ (as seen on the far left above) had been built for the Rivoli and was reported in the newspapers of the day as being particularly special in that it had all the stops covering orchestral effects.... woodwind, brass, harp, xylophone, Westminster chimes .... as well as many other features. As if that wasn't enough, music was also provided over the decades by an eleven-piece orchestra.

The heating and ventilation were a novelty of the era There were gasps from the public when a portion of the roof slid back to provide additional fresh air from the darkening sky on balmy, hot summer evenings.

c, 1925 — The Rivoli in the distance in Chapel Road (from the north).

c. 1933 — The Rivoli can be seen in the distance.... in the foreground is the town hall.

All seemed to be set fine for the Rivoli for the next 36 years but good things never last for long. Alas, disaster struck and the Findon guys were called out on an emergency. The Findon Fire Brigade was summoned on 19th January 1960 when a terrible blaze raged and the landmark of the Rivoli burned down.

What was the last film seen in the cinema? It was The Navy Lark with Cecil Parker and Ronald Shiner along with The Oregon Trail starring Fred MacMurray.

What happened after the fire? The site of the stalls was destined to be a private car park. The façade, entrance foyer with waiting area and pay box remained surprisingly remained intact after the blaze — and including part of the ground floor under the structure of the ruined circle. This surviving area was utilised for many years by auctioneers.

After that, the auction room was moved elsewhere and the property became a charity shop.

The end arrived 22 years ago. Finally on 29th April 1984 the old Rivoli premises, including shops adjacent, were demolished for a road widening proposal. Thus, the Rivoli disappeared off the map forever and only remained as a fond memory with the guys from Findon who frequented it (and who most likely sat in the back row).

25th May 2006

Hello Valerie,

Was fascinated to hear that the Rivoli had a sliding roof ! I never saw it open myself. Does anybody have more information on that ? I remember that the Plaza had a famous organ which I believe is still in situ.

At the side of the Plaza was a disco called “The Mexican Hat” where we used to listen and dance to a rock group called “The Beat Merchants” most of whom came from Horsham. The Beat Merchants music is collectable in the USA and the band almost reached cult status there long after they disbanded.

After the dancing we used to go to a cellar coffee bar on the sea front whose name I have forgotten, it was very dark and the décor was eggboxes! This was before the drugs scene of course – or it was as far as I was concerned!

Lawrie May

Lawrence May, Antigua, West Indies

25th May 2006

Hi Valerie,

Beat Merchants

Following from Lawries story of the Beat Merchants, & the Mexican Hat, [ I live a few doors away from the drummer], they once played in Mannings Heath village hall, and had an unknown support act, who were called "The Rolling Stones".

How things changed..

A Beat Merchants record was sold on E-Bay not too long ago, and got quite a good price.

Was Lawries dad my postman at one time?????

john..........

John Linfield, Horsham, West Sussex.

"Rolling Stones"? Never heard of them.

25th May 2006

Dear Valerie,

Beat Merchants etc.

Pleased John Linfield remembers the Beat Merchants.

Yes John, my dad was the village postman although he finished about 2 p.m. and worked as a woodman in the afternoons clearing copses and selling bean poles and pea sticks.

I used to make artists charcoal on the bonfires we used to light.

He was the centre forward of the village football team and was probably the worst actor ever to tread the boards in the village hall!

Lawrie May

Lawrence May, Antigua, West Indies.

26th May 2006

Hi Valerie,

I never ever saw the Rivoli roof open and sure it never happened in later years.

Many theatres & cinemas had sliding roofs such as the Brighton Hippodrome and London Palladium which I have seen open.

The Plaza organ was a good one with illuminated coloured glass surrounds it survived and was still played after the cinemas conversion to Bingo, but was later removed to Perth Australia where the glass panels got damaged on shipment.

the Plaza Ballroom was later called the Mexican Hat now it is now a block of flats.

Lawries father along with Mrs Hicks and Arthur Bennett often took the lead on the village hall stage under the superb direction of Barbara Coleman, It often had a full house the front rows were wooden armchairs.

From John Pelling of Lower Salvington Sx.

26th May 2006

Rivoli

Yes, I remember the sliding roof at the Rivoli.

They used to open it during the intervals when the weather allowed.

In the evenings you could look up and see the stars (no not the film stars).

Sometimes, if you were standing looking at the cinema from the Town Hall area, you could see a great pall of smoke rising up as the roof opened. The first time that I saw it I thought the place was on fire, but in fact it was cigarette smoke escaping!

I don't remember the disco near the Plaza, but in my time there was a ballroom called the Plaza Ballroom. I spent a lot of my time there between 1956 and 1958, in fact I learned to dance there.

Our coffee bars of choice were The Caribbean, in the Arcade, and The Waldorf, on the seafront near Bath Place.

Toodle Pip!

Roger Moulds

Roger Moulds, Llandrindod Wells, Powys, Wales.

28th May 2006

Rivoli

How great to see the pictures of the Rivoli Cinema !!

It was super- luxurious at the time.

Carpeting that you waded through, an air of exotic perfume, the best films (two features per performance, of course, plus news, Silly Symphony, documentary, trailers, usherettes with torches, the ice-cream ladies).

You could see the whole programme over again if you wanted.

And definitely the roof that slid open.

On Armistice Day all the schools walked to the Rivoli in crocodiles for the church service.

On Sundays, it shared films with Seebold's other cinemas, the Picturedrome and the Dome. A boy on a bicycle took the film reels on his bicycle from one to the other in turn.

Weekdays they all had different programmes.

Cheers,

Peter Trounce.

Peter Trounce, Toronto, Canada.

29th May 2006

hi Valerie,

Rivoli

the Box Office in the Rivoli I always thought was magnificent, the best I have ever seen, but the person inside it was the most disgruntled thing ever to sell tickets.

From John Pelling, Lower Salvington, Sussex.

Continue if you would like to read Flying Over Findon.

Back to Village Life Index

Back to Main Index

THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.

E-mail: valeriemartin@findonvillage.com