This famous Emsworth landmark actually started its life as a church.
In the 18th century most Emsworth residents went to church but, with a growing population, there wasn’t much room and only the rich could afford to buy or rent their own church pew. If you were poorer you weren’t allowed in these pews, so had to ensure a 2 mile walk across the fields to the church at Warblington, which was especially tough in Winter.
Repeated requests to the Church of England to build a church in Emsworth were refused. So the community got together and, in 1790, a proprietary chapel named St Peter’s was built in the town square, which was also named after it.
The chapel was was independent of the Church and built on the site of a disused small shipyard. The cost of £1,370, nearly £170,000 today, was met by subscriptions from the gentry and tradespeople of the town who wanted the chapel.
Did you know?
Once St James’ Church had been built in 1840 the need for St Peter’s chapel diminished. It ceased to function in 1852 and the building went into decline.
The building has an unusual history. In 1876 the building was purchased by the Emsworth Proprietary Hall Company, and in 1881 it became better known as the Town Hall.
In 1912 it was licensed to George Brookfield as the Town Hall Cinema, with 270 seats. Ownership passed to the Emsworth Town Hall Company, Ernest & Victor Ruffle, then Field and Palmer. The original clock tower was dismantled in 1928 as unsafe and the front of the building extended to form the foyer of a cinema.
By 1930 it had become The Pavilion Picture Theatre under Charles Fowlie and, during the 1930s, it acquired a new frontage and was enlarged to 527 seats with its stalls and balcony. The original facade was commissioned by the late Mr Wm. C. Reeves who also traced the original clock you can see today, which was repaired locally and still contains most of the old working parts and, needless to say, still keeps perfect time! Ownership then passed to Emsworth Pavilion Ltd but it became unprofitable and, in 1953 was used by Reeves’ Builders’ Merchants.
In 1998 it opened as a new café, Frobisher Court, becoming the Greenhouse Café until this sadly closed in September 2021, a victim of the many impacts of Covid-19 on many small businesses. Fortunately it very soon reopened as Cross Kitchen which has already won an award as the best cafe in Hampshire and the IOW. Why not pop in for a coffee next time you visit Emsworth?
Did you know?
Cross Kitchen gets its name from being run by the Cross family of Steve, Gemma, Daisy, Rosie and George plus their two cocker spaniels Wilma and Jim. Steve is a nationally recognised and award winning chef and Gemma runs Cross Cakes and is an expert cook herself!
- See more about Cross Kitchen and their menus at the website – www.crosskitchenemsworth
- Read about the Methodist Church next door to this site – click here
- Read about the International Stores near to this site – click here
- For more heritage visit the Emsworth museum – click here