Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB16/03/020

Address :
Vogue Cinema 52 Newry Street Kilkeel Newry Co Down BT34 4DN

Townland:
Magheramurphy

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
16/02/1994 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Entertainment Building

Former Use
Entertainment Building

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
284/4 SW

IG Ref:
J3035 1468

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Owner Category

Local Govt

Exterior Description And Setting

Inter-war cinema in a streamlined Moderne style on a sloping site with a south west facing façade to street. Cinema consists of a large auditorium with flat roofed returns to left gable and rear forming entrance, services and offices. Main block has pitched corrugated asbestos roof with a parapet gutter to facade and asbestos half round rainwater goods to rear. Each verge is concrete coped and a dashed chimney rises from rear pitch of right gable. Front elevation consists of the entrance block at left (uphill) of the auditorium. Entrance Block Entrance is two storeys high with high parapet and a taller advanced vertical pier (rising to above parapet) at join with auditorium at right. Walls are painted wet dash with a band-rusticated dado below a dado moulding. Both parapet and tall pier have plain overhanging concrete copings. At ground floor centre are two pairs of double leafed entrance doors accessed by a flight of four brown tiled steps. Doors, which are original, have five horizontal glazed panes and are painted timber. Pair to left retains original Modernist chrome handles. Over doors is a projecting canopy with advanced piers to left and right of doors. Soffit of canopy has diagonally set square grid of raised bands at intersections of which are round timber circles containing four modern lights. There is a group of three tall painted timber windows centred to first floor. Each has five horizontal panes (top ones open), with horizontal fluted glazing. Each has an advanced painted concrete cill and is separated by raised concrete mullions (with similar to left and right) which rise from the canopy. The mullions are terminated by a similar concrete transom, over which is a tall corrugated frieze with a projecting horizontal concrete hood over. Auditorium. Wall of main auditorium is dashed and painted with banded dado and dado moulding as before. The height of the dado wall increases as the site slopes down to right, until the dado moulding forms the head of the door at extreme right of elevation. This doorway is placed in a small porch (the wall to either side is advanced slightly for effect), with advanced piers (as main entrance canopy) supporting the advancing dado, which forms a hood. Right cheek of porch is devoid of openings and left cheek has a small two paned fixed timber window with obscured security glazing. There is a similar window on the main wall immediately left of porch. Over the dado line, at centre is a smooth rendered billboard panel flanked by similar narrower panels. Set in wall above, are six blind occuli with concrete architraves. At eaves level there are two raised concrete platbands with a corrugated frieze over forming the parapet and with projecting concrete coping. The left gable of the cinema (top of hill) is abutted by the entrance block; remaining wall on gable is dashed with a circular metal vent inset. Right gable of main block is dashed as facade and dado and other details (frieze etc) wrap around the corner before terminating. This elevation is abutted at ground floor by a lean-to addition with pitched corrugated asbestos roof, dashed wall. Modern timber and glass door to left cheek accessed by a flight of steps from left at ground level. Its rear wall has two modern stained timber casements and modern door at right end. Also a lean-to porch with opening on right cheek, leading into auditorium. Rear elevation is dashed and has two tall central windows; both are 12 paned (2X6). This elevation is abutted to left by a single storey return. To right of where it abuts rear elevation the rear wall is slightly advanced (with return roof advancing to cover it) and contains a narrow (horizontal) two paned casement. Abutting the right cheek of this advanced section is a deep porch formed by two dashed walls supporting a concrete canopy, inside is a pair of painted timber escape doors. The return has flat concrete coped roof, and its windows are 3X3 paned timber casements, one to rear wall and two on right cheek and six to right cheek (which steps out slightly from end gable of auditorium. The left cheek of the entrance block is dashed with a window to first floor, which is detailed exactly as that over entrance canopy but only two windows wide. The wall above is similarly coped. To left of this block the ground floor wall continues (with two small two paned casements to left end) and first floor is stepped back with parapet walk between the two. Where the first floor steps back, on the rear wall of the entrance block is a small top-hung two paned casement window. The stepped back first floor wall has a door to right and three modern casement windows (each with two panes and transom over). At left on rear wall (similarly set back) at first floor is a window and door. The rear wall of the ground floor block is flush with rear wall of auditorium and is abutted to right by a recent single storey return. Remaining wall is dashed with parapet wall broken by access for an attached metal escape ladder. To left of ladder is a three paned casement window. The return has a flat roof, dashed walls and no windows to rear wall. Right cheek is a continuation of the left elevation of the entrance block and has two recessed glazed timber doors and a row of high square modern timber windows, some of which are paired. Left cheek has three similar windows. Rear elevation of auditorium has, at middle two 6/6 timber sliding sashes. Left is abutted by a single storey flat roofed return. Immediately right of which is a small flat roofed entrance porch with modern two paned glazed doors. Return has smooth rendered base and modern windows, of no interest. There are pairs of large metal gates to each end of facade, hung from dashed piers.

Architects

Cowser, Benjamin

Historical Information

Opened on 19th April 1940 by Countess Kilmorey. ‘Rage of Paris’ staring Douglas Fairbanks Jnr was first feature film shown. Owners were Messrs McGonagle and McCulla. Architect was Ben Cowser of Cowser and Smyth, Belfast. Messrs Kalee Ltd, 49 Donegall Square Belfast, supplied cinema fittings. Built on a stadium principal, making use of the hill site so that seating area sloped downwards towards screen for maximum visibility. Originally contained a stage for performances. According to contemporary brochure, “multi-coloured foot lights and batons have been installed to allow the illumination of the silver screen in numerous beautiful hues.” Changing rooms added in 1970s. Interior refurbished in 1998 and recently reopened. Cowser was a native of Kilkeel, and was apprenticed to the Belfast-based architect Thomas Houston. Established his own practice in Belfast in 1933. Early commissions include Enniskillen Masonic Hall and Portstewart Town Hall. Entered into partnership with Val Smyth in 1936. They designed, amongst many buildings, North Street Arcade and Boy's Model School (both Belfast). Retired from practice in mid 1960s. Primary Sources 1. P. Larmour (19??), 'An architect of retrained modernism', in Perspective, vol.??, pp 43-5. 2. Opening brochure in possession of the cinema caretaker.

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form E. Spatial Organisation I. Quality and survival of Interior

Historic Interest

V. Authorship Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance Z. Rarity X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A 1930's cinema designed in a modern style by Ben Cowser. The main street-front elevation in asymmetrical in appearance and is finished in smooth painted render. It consists of interlocking rectangular blocks which display such typical features as flat parapets, long streamlined horizontal string courses, port-hole windows and horizontal glazing bars to rectangular windows and doors. The front doors are still mounted with the original handles of modernist design. The building also retains much of its original modernist interior detailing, and is a very characteristic example of its type and a rare survivor.

General Comments

Date of Survey

31 August 1998