The aim of the Going to the Pictures Project has been to help preserve a part of our local cinema heritage by collecting and recording memories from people who used and worked in the local picture houses from the 1930′s to the 1960′s.
Explore this map of 21 local cinemas within a 3 mile radius of the Plaza, from 1930 to 1960.
If you got in for the ‘Penny Rush’ you had extra money for sweets – Toms early 1930′s matinee memories
Cinema program from Boole Gaumont February 1962. Films showing at the cinema at that time included two ‘abridged versions’ this means that the films had been edited into shorter versions often in order to fit around the main feature
The Sun Hall was one of the earliest venues in the borough to show moving images to patrons back in 1906 when it showed animated pictures with a man behind the scenes providing sound effects. […]
The increased popularity in televisions in the home helped bring about the demise of regular cinema going.
Fashions from the films have always been emulated by people in society right from the days of early cinema up until today
The Regent Cinema was the first suburban cinema in the area to have a cafe lounge installed when it was built in 1920, over the years the building has had several uses including a bingo and social club. It is now part of St Mary’s School Gymnasium.
The impact that cinema has had on society had been quite remarkable. Film is an art form that entertains, informs and provides a view of the world. Before the days of instant news and film on demand the cinema was a place for entertainment, news and information.