Gill Bridge Avenue, Avenue Theatre
Gill Bridge Avenue, Avenue Theatre
HER Number
              13548
          District
              Sunderland
          Site Name
              Gill Bridge Avenue, Avenue Theatre
          Place
              Bishopwearmouth
          Map Sheet
              NZ35NE
          Class
              Recreational
          Site Type: Broad
              Music Speech and Dance Venue
          Site Type: Specific
              Theatre
          General Period
              POST MEDIEVAL
          Specific Period
              Victorian 1837 to 1901
          Form of Evidence
              Demolished Building
          Description
              Opened on the 30th October 1882 as a theatre showing plays and live music hall acts. During 1907 and 1908 James H Tindle showed the theatres first moving pictures.  The theatre only lasted a few years after the introduction of the "talkie" films and was closed on the 27th February 1932. The grand entrance way had a square frontage with a stepped pyramid topping. The theatre was closed in 1932 and the land bought by Vaux Brewery who retained the original entrance and incorporated it into their new building. The brewery was demolished in 1999. Tesco bought the land in 2001 but in 2010 it was sold to One North East for redevelopment. It is currently a brown-field redevelopment site with plans for mixed-use office and residential quarter with additional leisure facilities and new hotels.
          Easting
              439360
          Northing
              557200
          Grid Reference
              NZ439360557200
    Sources
              Anderson, A. (1995) A century of Sunderland Cinemas;  http://www.vauxsite.co.uk