Tales From The Treasure House : The Marble Arch

After many years of waiting, Beverley finally has its own cinema.

For the younger generation in the town this may be the first time that they’ve been able to go and see a movie on their doorstep, but for those with longer memories, they may remember a time when the streets of Beverley were filled with movie-goers.

Today, if you take a walk down the street of Butcher Row, you’ll come to a place on which now stands a well known clothing and food retail chain. But this is not just any old place, this is the site of Beverley’s old forgotten cinema, the Marble Arch!

The Marble Arch, or Marble ‘Itch’ as it was affectionately known, was one of three cinemas that existed in the town during the twentieth century. The others were the Picture Playhouse and Regal. Of the three, it was the Marble Arch that was the only purpose-built cinema in Beverley; the others being buildings converted for that use.

It opened 100 years ago in 1916 under the management of Edward Butt, and although it was arguably the least well known of the town’s cinemas, it was certainly the most resplendent, offering such pleasant stage and seating facilities that it became a popular venue for the Choral and Operatic Societies and many concerts were arranged during the war years.

Now, there is no sign that the cinema ever existed, but if you go to the East Riding Archives, based at the Treasure House in Beverley, you can find plans and photographs showing exactly how the cinema used to look. It took its name from a local landmark – a passage that ran between the cottages and shops on Butcher Row that were demolished to make way for the cinema, and archive photographs from before the construction of the cinema show the archway that inspired this name.

Archivist Sam Bartle said:

“These archives are invaluable for showing us what was here in the past. Unless you know Beverley intimately, many people walking down Butcher Row today would never have guessed that a cinema used to be here. This is what makes plans and photographs such a local treasure.”

In the early days the cinema used to show silent films, with up to five instrumentalists providing the background music. Originally, the electricity was provided by the cinema’s own generator, brought over from Lincolnshire for the purpose.

By 1961 the Marble Arch, like its competitors, had turned to bingo and the last film was shown in 1964. It finally closed in 1967 to be demolished with other properties nearby and replaced by a supermarket.

The Marble Arch may be gone, but thanks to the East Riding Archives, it is no longer forgotten.