Site

The plaque can be seen in our photo above the 'yoga' and 'The Tramworks' signs.

The building is part of the 1930 Walthamstow Granada development, which one can see consisted of 5 shops as well as the cinema itself, by architect, Cecil Aubrey Masey. 

Stories of London gives the history of the site: "The Granada Theatre was built on the site of The Victoria Hall in Hoe Street in 1887 by J.F.H. Read who was the founder of the Walthamstow Musical Society and John Cropley, a local builder.  The Hall was used for meetings and the performing arts, and in 1896, the building became one of the first to show films, which had just been invented.  Between 1901 and 1907, it was renamed the King’s Theatre.  In 1906 it became Walthamstow’s first full-time cinema and c.1910, it was renamed the Victoria Picture Palace and was demolished in 1930 to make way for the Granada Theatre.

"The Victoria Hall was built with its auditorium parallel to Hoe Street.  Prior to its demolition, Sidney Bernstein purchased the land directly behind the Hall and so was able to have the new theatre built perpendicular to the street, which allowed it to have a much larger auditorium."

So we think Walton was an attendant at the cinema which was on the site before the current building.

With the Palace auditorium running alongside the road it probably occupied all the street frontage, allowing no room for shops.  Perhaps the Express Dairy where Walton worked was conveniently on the land behind the theatre? This 1893 map, and this one, between them show the Victoria Hall (at the very top and very bottom respectively). But there is no indication of a dairy anywhere close.