The Deco

The Deco is a restored 1930s cinema and theatre located in the heart of Northampton, England. It is now operated as a venue for corporate, social and theatrical events.The Deco was designated a Grade II listed building in 2004. and originally featured a single large cinema room and theatre. Over the years the internal arrangement of the building has changed a couple of times and The Deco now consists of 3 main areas: A main 900 seat auditorium and 2 smaller 200 seater rooms, The Doré and The Glen, the latter being named after the original architect William Riddell Glen.The Deco features as part of the Northampton Heritage Trail and since the rebuild of the Roadmender The Deco is now one of the largest venues for touring bands between London and Birmingham.HistoryThe Deco first opened on Saturday 2 May 1936 in a blaze of publicity as "the Savoy" described as "Northampton’s only super Cinema" and was reported to be "the last word in comfort". It was part of the ABC group designed by their prolific house architect William Riddell Glen and built in under 9 months on the site of the original Technical College. It was constructed in the International Modernistic style and is arguably the best remaining example of Glen’s work with all the main features still in place and sympathetically renovated.The Savoy was very popular and originally held almost 2000 people in the 696 seat circle and 1200 seat stalls. It was designed both as a cinema and theatre complete with orchestra pit. It hosted shows and concerts as well as films.In the 1950s it was renamed the "ABC" in line with the group’s national branding policy and was the local venue of choice for the touring bands of the 60s including the Beatles in both March and November 1963 the Rolling Stones in 1965 and infamously PJ Proby in 1965 when he was arrested for splitting his trousers on stage!