Students in the School of English at the
University of Sheffield are provided with the opportunity of taking a work
placement as part of their degree programme.
This year we’ve been lucky enough to have two students working with us
at Sheffield City Archives and Local Studies Library. Amy Guest has been researching the history of
film and cinema in Sheffield using the wealth of fascinating sources stored
deep in the basement of the Central Library.
Her work links in with similar research being conducted at the
University of Sheffield, giving us a clear picture of the breadth of material
the city has as a whole. In this blog,
Amy gives a brief overview of film and cinema history in Sheffield and
showcases a few of the early photographs and advertisements that have survived…
Sheffield Picture Palace, Union Street, 1915 (Picture Sheffield: y05044) |
The history of cinemas in Sheffield is
an interesting one, dating to the advent of cinematic work in the late
nineteenth century. Sheffield Archives
and Local Studies Library has a range of material, secondary and primary, on
the history of Sheffield Cinema with a source guide providing aid to those
interested in researching this topic. This blog provides a short overview of the
early history of cinema in the city using these sources.
Cinematographer, Jasper Redfern, opened
Central Hall Norfolk Street on 10th July 1905, which hosted films and animated
pictures along with variety acts.
The first purpose-built cinema in
Sheffield was the Picture Palace in Union Street created in 1910. This followed
a trend of purpose built cinemas being built in the 1910s onwards because of
the Cinematograph Act passed in 1909, regulating standards for condition of
premises and in the interest of public health and safety. As early film was made from cellulose-nitrate
it was highly flammable and so this Act included the regulation of fire
precautions such as the provision of separate, fire resisting projection boxes
and fire-fighting equipment. This made
small travelling shows and the haphazard use of buildings untenable.
'What's on in Sheffield', 1915 (Picture Sheffield: y05044) |
The Picture Palace was built by Benton
and Robertson, Architects with a 1,000-seat capacity, opening on 1st August
1910. It remained open until 1964 but
was later demolished like so many other buildings of this era. Thankfully, a comprehensive photographic record
of these by-gone buildings can be found on Picture Sheffield (www.picturesheffield.com).
Many more ‘picture palaces’ were built from
the 1910s onwards such as: the Electra Palace opened 1911; Wincobank Picture
Palace opened 1914; and Lansdowne Picture Palace opened 1914. To satisfy public
hunger for film entertainment, according to the late Clifford Shaw, a total of
thirty cinemas had been built or were in the process prior to the outbreak of
the First World War in August 1914.
Electra Palace interior showing seating and balcony (Picture Sheffield: s08055) |
The architecture of the first purpose-built
cinemas shared their aesthetic with theatres and opera houses as can be seen from
the interior images of the Picture Palace and Electra with their balconies and interior design
similar (right). This is probably because cinema was in its infancy and so
building with such styles set cinemas in the same category as familiar
entertainment venues, before they developed their distinct character and style
with the evolution of cinema across the twentieth century.
Electra Palace advert, 1914 (Picture Sheffield: y05049) |
Electra Palace interior; opened 1911 (Picture Sheffield: s02694) |
Union Street Picture Palace; opened 1910 (Picture Sheffield: s08069) |
Prior to the building of purpose-built
cinemas, cinematograph showings in the 1890s and first decade of the twentieth
century, were largely performed in already existing theatres, auditoriums,
music halls, such as the Sheffield Empire and Albert Hall. As such, cinema was
not consider a separate entertainment entity or art in its own right at first,
instead being set in a variety of amusements and entertainments. Thus early
cinematographers were usual variety showmen with a selection of entertainment
acts, rather than purely working on moving pictures. Pictured (below) is an advertisement for 'cinematograph entertainment'
provided by ‘Prof de. Lyle’ aka George A. Fox, a showman, conjuror
and resident at Ecclesall Road.
(Picture Sheffield: v01305) |
As Cinema, in its early years, was not
yet a fully-fledged art form, most early films were shorts with live orchestral
accompaniment and depicted everyday subjects, rather than the more ambitious
projects undertaken in cinema from the 1910s onwards.
Fitzalan Square, c.1900 - the Wonderland booth can be seen to the right beside the Bell Hotel (Picture Sheffield: s16021) |
Travelling shows at fairgrounds, markets
and holiday resorts were a mainstay of cinematic showings in the 1890s. More
permanent fairground structures in Sheffield were created such as Wonderland,
Fitzalan Square which showed short films in a primitive fashion. It was
demolished in 1910 and replaced by the purpose built Electra Palace (pictured).
Frank Mottershaw (Picture Sheffield: y02357) |
In June 1896, the first cinematic
display was shown by the Lumière brothers touring company, who had been
experimenting with photography since the 1880s; they were part of the variety
bill at the Empire Palace. They mostly showed street scenes of everyday life.
Evidently a success, it returned again in September of the same year.
Mottershaw family (Picture Sheffield y02358) |
Sheffield had a prominent role in early
cinema through the Mottershaw family who founded the Sheffield Photo Company in
the 1890s and were significant in the development in early British cinema. On Queen Victoria’s visit to Sheffield in 1897
to open the Town Hall, the Mottershaws photographed the event and purchased a
film of the occasion along with other shorts which they showed in touring
presentations. They made their own film
for the first time in 1900 with Dolly Grey - a garden party of a local
family - and subsequently began film production from then onwards.
One of their main contributions was
pioneering chase sequences in a number of films: A Daring Daylight Robbery,
1903; Robbery of the Mail Coach, 1903 and the 1905 picture The Life
of Charles Pearce which used on location footage in Sheffield for a sense
of realism by using the actual haunts of its titular figure. These films were
exported around Britain and abroad in America, although there was a significant
issue with piracy of films at the time, likely due to the newness of the medium
and therefore difficultly in enforcing copyrights. Despite these difficulties,
the Mottershaw Sheffield Photo Company was
appointed official photographer by Edward VII in 1905.
From SUFC programme, 24 Feb 1900 (Picture Sheffield: y03515) |
Finally, to satisfy those interested in
Sheffield football club history, here are some stills of The English Cup
Sheffield United v. Sheffield Wednesday match at Owlerton, Monday 19th February 1900 by the cinematographer Jasper Redfern (left).
Amy
Guest, University of Sheffield
Study Guide on cinemas in Sheffield: https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/libraries-archives/access-archives-local-studies-library/research-guides/cinemas
Early moving footage online:
Experience Sheffield's oldest working picture house first hand: http://www.abbeydalepicturehouse.com/