Field’s Oriental Lounge, Bridlington – a photo from Stanley Appleyard’s photo albums.
The photo was intriguing, it seemed out of place in the album and yet contained sufficient detail for its location to be identified. Where was it? A search, in Google, for “Field’s Oriental Lounge” came up with Bridlington. The page (see link below) additionally refers the “The Cigarettes” season at the Lounge in July 1915. This detail appears too in the photo above. The location had been confirmed. But what was the date of the photo and exactly where was it Bridlington?
Dating the Oriental Lounge image
There Bridlington page shows a set of photos all dated September 1907. There are no other photos of Bridlington in Stanley’s albums that have been identified as yet. The assumption, therefore is that the date of the photo is September 1907.
The Oriental Lounge on the Esplanade
There are a number of references to Field’s Oriental Lounge and some of these are listed below. The only other image of the lounge found so far appears in Aled Jones ‘Now and Then’ column. The image shows Esplanade boarding houses and the frontage of the Lounge under construction. The arched trellis above the windows is distinctive.
The Cigarettes at the Oriental Lounge Bridlington
The original search showed up the “The Cigarettes” season at the Lounge in July 1915. Further research of the Bridlington an Quay Gazette shows other references to the “The Cigarettes” appearing at Field’s Oriental Lounge. This detail also appears in the photo above.
Advertisement from the Hull Daily Mail – Friday 04 August 1911. The evening show starts at 8pm, the same as in the photo above. Free entry in 1911 – not clear from the photo above whether that was free at the time. The programme details for 1915 in contrast, show a start time of 7.45pm
Two shows a day in 1911 – again no evidence of a second show in the photo. This suggests an earlier date for the photo.
The 1915 programme details shows that Ernest Crampton was the man behind “The Cigarettes”. The show would surely have included a performance of “My Cigarette” – written by Ernest. Interestingly the song is copyrighted in 1908.
All of the above further suggest that the date of of the above photo is indeed September 1907. Why was the photo taken? Stanley and family were staying round the corner at 11 The Crescent; did they visit the Oriental Lounge and see “The Cigarettes”?
- http://www.joyland.co.uk/documents/loungecinema.htm
- The ‘Now and Then’ column with Aled Jones: Looking at the old, impressive buildings on Bridlington’s Esplanade | The Scarborough News
- Field’s Oriental Lounge, Summer Season 1915 – Bridlington.net
- https://www.sheetmusicwarehouse.co.uk/20th-century-songs-m/my-cigarette-song/
- Category:Crampton, Ernest Bryant – IMSLP: Free Sheet Music PDF Download
I have a postcard showing Ernest Crampton’s Cigarettes at Fields Oriental Lounge
I would be happy to add the postcard image to the page – with credits for the source.