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When Mr. Bernstein returned to England, he began to have theatre organs installed in a number of theatres that he was either having rebuilt or refurbished. In 1927, the Rialto Leytonstone became the first of his Theatres to open with an organ.

The organ, a British built Compton Theatre Organ, had its console rebuilt in 1931 in the French Style, and remained at the Theatre until 1973 when it was removed and re-installed at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Hornchurch. Later the organ was purchased by Byron Jones, the organist, and restored by him and his friends and is housed currently in the Methodist Church Hall at Eden Grove, Horfield near Bristol and played monthly for both concerts and dances.

Bryon Jones and the Compton Theatre Organ
This photograph appears here with permission of Mr. Byron Jones.

Click here to hear Byron Jones, The Welsh Wizard,  at The Wurlitzer Organ of The Tower Ballroom Blackpool

When the Empire Theatre Edmonton re-opened as a cinema in 1927, it did so with a two-manual Christie Theatre Organ installed and built by Hill, Norman & Beard. In 1933 when the theatre was reconstructed, the Christie Theatre Organ was removed and replaced by a ten rank Wurlitzer with a phantom piano.  In 1969, the Wurlitzer Theatre Organ was removed and was installed at the St. Albans Organ Museum.

The Bernsteins also installed Christie Threatre Organs at the Rialto Enfield, the Empire Willesden and the Empire West Ham. These organs were small and inexpensive, but in 1934, these were rebuilt to a higher standard and enlarged to become proper organs following the design of Harold Ramsay. The first two purpose-built Granada Theatres, at Dover and Walthamstow, were also installed with Christie Theatre Organs.

However, the Bernsteins decided to install a Wurlitzer Theatre Organ in their next purpose-built theatre, which was their flagship theatre, the Granada Theatre Tooting.  Despite this, they were to install one additional Christie Theatre Organ and this was to their first theatre of their Granada Theatre Circuit in 1934, which was the Granada Theatre Maidstone. The organ’s console was destroyed by flooding in September 1968.  Fortunately the pipe chambers were positioned high up in the side walls and were not damaged by the water and were later sold to the Kelvin Grove State High School in Australia where it is now installed in the school’s Assembly Hall.

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