Looking back at Roses' roots - and beyond

TEWKESBURY'S Roses Theatre opened its doors half a century ago this year. By doing so it began a new chapter in the history of entertainment and performance in the town stretching back hundreds of years.

- Robin BROOKS

In medieval times monks at the abbey staged plays to raise funds for repairs of the building. Then in 1762 a venue named the New Theatre was advertised, which was in a former malt house in the Oldbury. Within a few years two more theatres opened in the town, one in Rail's Meadow, the other in an area of town that was called the Pantry. The latter was run by the father of John Kemble, who was a leading thespian of his time.

Records tell us that in 1823 a theatre company from Covent Garden named Abbot & Farley opened a theatre behind the Wheatsheaf pub. In 1830, Edmund Kean performed on this stage as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. But by 1838 the theatre had closed.

With the arrival of movie magic, Watson Hall was Tewkesbury's first permanent home for film shows. From 1902 until 1911 films were shown regularly by an impresario named Shakespeare Shenton. When Walker's Engineering Works in Tewkesbury's Oldbury burned down before the First World War, the enterprising Mr Shenton acquired the charred shell of a building and turned it into The Palace cinema.

This remained in business until 1932 when the premises once more burned down. Shenton's venture came to an abrupt end and the cinema remained empty until being demolished to make way for, oddly enough, the fire station.