KHS_P_589_ (3)
Interior cover of the programme for 'The Yeomen of the Guard'.
The Keighley Amateur Lyric and Dramatic Society staged a production of W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan's 'The Yeomen of the Guard (or The Merryman and his Maid)' at the Hippodrome theatre in Keighley from 18th to 23rd October 1909.
The story is set in the sixteenth century and revolves around Colonel Fairfax, a condemned prisoner in the Tower of London, and his attempts to secure a wife before his execution for sorcery. He manages to escape the Tower disguised as a Yeoman and much confusion ensues before all is righted by the end.
It starred Arthur Greenwood as Colonel Fairfax, with E. G. Moulding, James Pearson, Willie Boyes, J. R. Hammond, H. Connelly, John Merrall, C. A. Greenwood, J. Greenwood, B. Hardacre, H. V. Wilkinson, Miranda Sugden, Ethel Bird, Miss Lambert and Mrs Heaton. The musical director was W. S. Wilkinson and the stage manager was W. G. Bedford. Scenery was hired from the Northern Theatres Co. Ltd. and was specially painted by F. G. Venimore.
The Keighley Amateur Lyric and Dramatic Society had only formed a year previous (in 1908) and the theatre had only been renamed the Hippodrome earlier that year (in 1909). Prior to that it was known as the Queen’s Theatre, although both names remained on the front of the building, and many programmes and adverts continued to refer to the ‘Hippodrome and Queen’s Theatre’.
In 1876, Abraham Kershaw, a piano player and tuner from Huddersfield, had bought 700 square yards of land in Queen Street. On it he had built a five-storey wooden theatre, designed by architect J. B. Bailey, that opened at Easter 1880. The theatre was not a financial success and the wooden theatre was pulled down. A new improved theatre, called the Queen’s Theatre was built instead and opened on 26th August 1889. But even this new theatre was deemed inadequate, and in its place was built the new Queen’s Theatre. This was designed by theatre architect Frank Matcham (1854-1920). It covered 7,000 square feet with a frontage of 86 feet to Queen Street and 48 feet to Adelaide Street. There was an iron veranda fitted with coloured glass that ran the whole length of the front. It could seat almost 2,000 people, the stage was 65 feet wide by 45 feet deep, and it boasted that every person in the house had an uninterrupted view of the whole stage. There were six private boxes, bars on all five floors, and ten dressing rooms. The new theatre opened on the 3rd February 1900.
Impresario Francis Laidler (1867-1955) took over the theatre in 1913 – he also ran the Prince’s Theatre and Alhambra Theatre in Bradford, and the Theatre Royal in Leeds. He was managing director up until his death when his widow, Gwladys, took over until the theatre closed in October 1956.
The theatre was demolished in 1961 and in its place now stands the Airedale Shopping Centre multi-storey car park. Keighley Local Studies Library holds various records relating to the theatre including a scrapbook belonging to Abraham Kershaw, a box office notebook, a theatrical postcard album covering 1906 to 1929, autograph books and various photographs, programmes, and posters.
This souvenir programme was a collaboration between photographer H. Charlton of Lawkholme Crescent, and the printers Wadsworth & Co. of The Rydal Press, Russell Street. It measures approximately 255mm by 190mm and is 36 pages long. The programme was donated to the Keighley and District Local History Society by Tim Neal in 2022. A second copy was received by the History Society from an anonymous donor later in 2022. Both copies are held in the History Society's physical archive.
KHS_P_589_ (3)
Interior cover of the programme for 'The Yeomen of the Guard'.
The Keighley Amateur Lyric and Dramatic Society staged a production of W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan's 'The Yeomen of the Guard (or The Merryman and his Maid)' at the Hippodrome theatre in Keighley from 18th to 23rd October 1909.
The story is set in the sixteenth century and revolves around Colonel Fairfax, a condemned prisoner in the Tower of London, and his attempts to secure a wife before his execution for sorcery. He manages to escape the Tower disguised as a Yeoman and much confusion ensues before all is righted by the end.
It starred Arthur Greenwood as Colonel Fairfax, with E. G. Moulding, James Pearson, Willie Boyes, J. R. Hammond, H. Connelly, John Merrall, C. A. Greenwood, J. Greenwood, B. Hardacre, H. V. Wilkinson, Miranda Sugden, Ethel Bird, Miss Lambert and Mrs Heaton. The musical director was W. S. Wilkinson and the stage manager was W. G. Bedford. Scenery was hired from the Northern Theatres Co. Ltd. and was specially painted by F. G. Venimore.
The Keighley Amateur Lyric and Dramatic Society had only formed a year previous (in 1908) and the theatre had only been renamed the Hippodrome earlier that year (in 1909). Prior to that it was known as the Queen’s Theatre, although both names remained on the front of the building, and many programmes and adverts continued to refer to the ‘Hippodrome and Queen’s Theatre’.
In 1876, Abraham Kershaw, a piano player and tuner from Huddersfield, had bought 700 square yards of land in Queen Street. On it he had built a five-storey wooden theatre, designed by architect J. B. Bailey, that opened at Easter 1880. The theatre was not a financial success and the wooden theatre was pulled down. A new improved theatre, called the Queen’s Theatre was built instead and opened on 26th August 1889. But even this new theatre was deemed inadequate, and in its place was built the new Queen’s Theatre. This was designed by theatre architect Frank Matcham (1854-1920). It covered 7,000 square feet with a frontage of 86 feet to Queen Street and 48 feet to Adelaide Street. There was an iron veranda fitted with coloured glass that ran the whole length of the front. It could seat almost 2,000 people, the stage was 65 feet wide by 45 feet deep, and it boasted that every person in the house had an uninterrupted view of the whole stage. There were six private boxes, bars on all five floors, and ten dressing rooms. The new theatre opened on the 3rd February 1900.
Impresario Francis Laidler (1867-1955) took over the theatre in 1913 – he also ran the Prince’s Theatre and Alhambra Theatre in Bradford, and the Theatre Royal in Leeds. He was managing director up until his death when his widow, Gwladys, took over until the theatre closed in October 1956.
The theatre was demolished in 1961 and in its place now stands the Airedale Shopping Centre multi-storey car park. Keighley Local Studies Library holds various records relating to the theatre including a scrapbook belonging to Abraham Kershaw, a box office notebook, a theatrical postcard album covering 1906 to 1929, autograph books and various photographs, programmes, and posters.
This souvenir programme was a collaboration between photographer H. Charlton of Lawkholme Crescent, and the printers Wadsworth & Co. of The Rydal Press, Russell Street. It measures approximately 255mm by 190mm and is 36 pages long. The programme was donated to the Keighley and District Local History Society by Tim Neal in 2022. A second copy was received by the History Society from an anonymous donor later in 2022. Both copies are held in the History Society's physical archive.