This enthusiast was aware that John Smallwood, General Secretary of the Cinema Organ Society, was interested in the instrument whilst his own main interest was in the Workington one. He used part of the Woolwich organ to enlarge his existing instrument and connected the Woolwich console up so that the organ could by played from both consoles.įor the next twenty years the remainder of the instrument was stored in outhouses and attics - and suffered accordingly.ġ991 saw both organs offered for sale and acquired by an enthusiast in Edinburgh. After removal, the organ was acquired by a gentleman in Carlisle and who already had the Ritz, Workington, Wurlitzer installed in his music room. In fact, David Lowe, who played the opening concert in Tywyn, well remembers playing at Woolwich during this period.īut safety regulations eventually required that the raked cinema seats were replaced on a level floor, and the organ had to be removed. But by the 1960's television had laid claim to the mass home audiences and the organ was no longer played on a regular basis.Īt the same time, the Granada Woolwich closed its doors as a cinema but the organ initially remained in situ when the building reopened as a Bingo Hall and from time to time was used to entertain the Bingo players.
The opening concert in 1937 was given by none other than Mr. One of the most spectacular interiors was to be found in their 1937 Woolwich cinema in South East London and included the organ now installed in Neuadd Pendre Community Hall in Tywyn.Īll of the nearly 600 pipes and percussions were in two chambers under the stage, and the cream and gold console was on a lift in the centre of the orchestra pit.
Granada cinemas were no exception and installed organs in most their cinemas - mainly Wurlitzers. In the mid 1930s the proliferation of cinemas throughout the United Kingdom saw many circuits competing to provide the grandest decor and features to encourage people to desert their homes and their worries for an evening of escapism - 'at the pictures'.Ī central feature of this was, for many cinemas - the Mighty Wurlitzer.
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