Mr Hardy's aesthetic nature thrilled at the beauties of circus life - Mr Laurel never got any further than the monkey cage.
Stan and Ollie visited Nottingham twice during their British tours. The first time was at Easter, 1952, following a week in Leeds. On the week commencing April 14th, the Boys appeared at The Empire Theatre, Nottingham.
The Empire was opened on 28th February, 1898, as a direct competitor to the Theatre Royal. In actual fact, the old Theatre Square, Nottingham was host to the Empire, the Theatre Royal and the Hippodrome, all within the same building block. The Empire played host to many famous people in the years it was open. Dan Leno, Little Tich, Houdini, WC Fields, Morecambe and Wise, Julie Andrews, Ken Dodd, Des O'Connor and Harry Worth, who appeared of course with Laurel and Hardy. The Theatre hosted 2200 seats originally, but this capacity was reduced to 1800 in time.
After The Boys had visited in the fifties, the Theatre was only able to stay open until 1958. The last few months hosted the "Striptease Peep Show", but even this more exclusive form of entertainment only kept the theatre open for a brief time. The last day of opening was on 21st June 1958, and the Theatre was demolished in 1969.
Although they stayed at the County Hotel, Nottingham with their wives, Ida and Lucille, Stan's sister Olga Healey was only a taxi ride away, living at the Bull Inn, Bottesford.
Bottesford is a small village close to Grantham. In the post war years, there was no A52 bypass. In those days, the main road ran right through the middle of the village, and in times past, the Bull was an important stopping off point for mail coaches to and from London.
On Easter Sunday, the Boys travelled to the Bull, to have tea with Olga and her husband, Bill. Olga had moved to the Bull, from Barkston, where she had lived with Stan's father, A.J. She decided to move after his death in 1949.
(*Thanks to Dave Tomlinson for these photos)
Staff from the time tell us that Olga was strict, but fair, and in the true Jefferson tradition, a big joker. When the Boys arrived in the afternoon, they were in good humour. They made people laugh, even when they were "off-stage".
They ate a Sunday roast, enjoyed some beer and a few hours of privacy before the pub reopened.
After a good week's performances at the Empire, the Boys moved on in their tour to Shrewsbury.
They returned the following year, at Christmas, arriving from Hull. Week commencing December 21st, the Boys put on a real Yuletide performance of their play "Birds of a Feather". They were welcomed to the stage to shrieks of delight from the audience, creating hysterics at their antics. The glare from Ollie and the raised eyebrows from Stan would work magic on their audience. At the end of the show, they invited children up onto the stage, to participate in a talent competition. Even those too shy to perform were given a colouring book and crayons, or a similar consolation prize.
Even though the County Hotel and the Empire were only 100 yards apart, the Boys took a taxi to work. This was necessary to avoid the Notts crowds, all wishing to get a glimpse of their heroes.
They found time to revisit the Bull, pulling pints for the locals. Before long, it was time for their show to move onto Portsmouth. Never again would they return to Nottingham. But for those who saw them, they left precious memories, beyond value.
The Empire Theatre once stood on the open ground in front of the current Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham, opposite the Warner Brothers complex. The County Hotel was situated around the other side of the Theatre Royal, and was opposite Barrasford House office block. Unless you knew where to look, you'd never have known.
Thanks to AJ Marriot and his excellent book "Laurel and Hardy - The British Tours" for the information on this page. Also thanks to Nottingham Central Library and their excellent Nottingham website www.picturethepast.org.uk for information on the Empire and the County Hotel.
