Winding Wheel Theatre kicks off centenary year with blue plaque award
Chesterfield’s iconic Winding Wheel Theatre has kicked off its centenary year celebrations in style, by unveiling a blue plaque from Chesterfield Civic Society.
Councillor Tony Rogers and Sharon Rogers, the Mayor and Mayoress of Chesterfield, officially unveiled the plaque at a small ceremony on Wednesday 1 March with representatives from the Civic Society and Chesterfield Borough Council in attendance.
Originally opening in 1923 as the Picture House, the Winding Wheel Theatre has been an important cultural venue for the last one hundred years. In the late 1930s it was bought by the Odeon Cinema chain but it also housed a ballroom and a restaurant.
It closed in 1981 but was bought by Chesterfield Borough Council, restored and refurbished, opening again in the late 1980s as a conference and entertainment venue and later gained Grade II listed building status.
The Mayor of Chesterfield, Councillor Tony Rogers, said: “It was an honour to unveil this plaque and officially mark the start of the centenary year of the Winding Wheel Theatre.”
Councillor Kate Sarvent, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said: “The Winding Wheel Theatre has a long and varied history in our town – a historic building that is a popular cultural venue. Thank you to Chesterfield Civic Society for recognising this building with the award of a blue plaque.”
Philip Riden, chairman of the Civic Society, added: “This is one of three plaques funded by a generous grant we received from the Borough Council in 2021. One of the others commemorates Chesterfield Girls High School and the third will be installed at the Stephenson Memorial Hall when the current refurbishment there is complete. We have recently received funding from East Midland Railway for two more plaques to mark the site of two of Chesterfield’s Victorian railway stations.”
More centenary celebrations will take place at the Winding Wheel Theatre later in 2023.
In September there will be an exhibition about the history of the building together with cinema screenings and other events. More details about these events will be released later this year.
binary comment
