Everyman’s 42nd venue is perhaps one of the most stunning and certainly the best building in Marlow.
Built in 1807 as The Market House, this building has had many uses and a colourful past. It has served as assembly rooms, market place, hotel, fire station and cook shop. It has undergone many changes over time, but the main heart of the building remains virtually unchanged.
We began work on this early March 2018 when Everyman fell in love with the building and a plan was formulated to demolish the rather ugly, relatively new rear extension to facilitate the auditorium block, whilst retaining the front listed element. Getting the planners to agree to this and all the other modifications that are required to make an old building work as a cinema was no easy task, but we felt the good people of Marlow got behind this and helped push it along. There is a lot of local love for the Market House.
Our design is a fine balance of the old and new. With such a miss match of original elements, we wanted to ensure these had some space to breathe but also that they worked along side bold graphics, luxurious textures and strong colours.
The grand front elevation, with its classical columns and clock tower remains essentially unmodified, but we added an entrance canopy to the location where a more ornate version was once located when this served as The Crown Hotel. The original fixing brackets for this are still in place. A festoon canopy leads through to a curtain lined entrance lobby, past the Speilburger restaurant and up the stately sweeping staircase , dominated by bold black and white “paparazzi” wallpaper and a contemporary glass chandelier.
Once at first floor you step through a floral wallpaper wrapped landing space with fixed seating to match, which all adds a splash of colour and pattern as a contrast. Oversized double doors take you in to the heart and soul of the building to the ballroom, which now serves as the main bar and seating area. A new mezzanine seating level was inserted to balance the room as the existing balcony is essentially decorative and unusable. The existing double height sash windows let the light flood in and are lined with velvet curtains . A regal green adorns the walls which feature two large scale prints of abandoned cinemas by renowned photographer Dimitri Bourriau. These frame the existing fireplace area which has a 3-tone cut pattern mirror inset in to the existing wall mouldings. The room has touches of shades of pink fabrics and florals paired with solid colour velvets.
The restrictions within this building meant it was only possible to squeeze in 2 auditoriums, which are both close in shape and size and both share a warmth and intimacy through the use of red and orange velvets, patterned fabrics and rich timber.