“My father did shift work, so every third week we would all go to the pictures either to the Regent, Plaza or the Corona.

If it was the Corona we would have an early tea, rush from Brownmore Lane down Endbutt Lane through Coronation Park to get to the Corona Picture House, which was were the Co-op shop is now in College Road. The park would be closed when we went home so we walked the full length of College Road, Kingsway, Stuart Road and into Brownmore Lane: A long evening out.

Most Saturday afternoons I would go with school friends to the Stella in Seaforth, as the father of one of my friends was the manager and we would get in free.

Sometimes we would go to the Queens or the Winter Gardens picture houses; they were also known as the ‘Flea Pit’.

We always had to stand in queues to get into any picture house.

On Saturday mornings there was a club for children, I think it was 6 pence to get in.”

Cherie Bootle

“In 1933/34 I went to “The Pictures” for the first time paying 1d. each to go in for about 2 hours. The Winter Gardens was not the best place to go to. The film was a Western, in black and white of course, I was not impressed. When I arrived home my mother asked me had I enjoyed it, my only comment was, “I’ll never go to live where the cowboys and Indians live because it rained all the time.” Nothing would change my mind. It was several years later that I realised that the film was very old and scratched. Well, it looked like driving rain to me.

Two years later I went again! I was given 6d. to pay for the three of us. I took my young sister and young cousin for their first time to a picture house in Walton Vale. We had a great argument outside, should we pay 1d. for our seat and have a penny ice cream in the interval, or the 2d. seat. As the eldest I decided – 1d. entrance and 1d. ice cream. The ice cream won! But if we had been nearer the front we would have been behind the screen!!!

I have only been once to the Plaza, about 2/3 years ago and before that to see the film of Winston Churchill’s funeral.”

Miss Betty Leitch

The building was built and used a gymnasium before becoming a cinema in 1909, when it was known as The New Picture Hall. After about two months the name was changed to The Winter Gardens opening 28th February 1910 showing a mixture of films and variety acts including dancers and comedians.

The cinema changed hands many times over the years and was refurbished and restructured on several occasions.

In 1914 it came under new management again and was renamed to the Waterloo Play House showing mainly feature films and comedies. The last film to be shown under this name was the silent feature film ‘The Carnival of Truth.’ After this it was renamed The Winter Gardens again and changed to a live theatre as a new leasee and manager took over. The building was drastically altered and seating increased from 450 to 650.

It continued life as a live theatre for many years showing a variety of performances from comedies to Shakespeare.

On December 26th 1931 the Winter Gardens reopened as a cinema, it lasted as a cinema for over 30 years supported by variety acts, music and live performances.

In its later years the Winter Garden’s was known as the place which would show ‘X’ rated films and memories have been shared about the cinema staff often turning a blind eye to the younger cinema patrons trying to watch these films.

As with many other local cinemas in the late 1950′s and 60′s following increased ownership of televisions in the home and added choice of forms of entertainment, the Winter Gardens tried to introduce additional attractions to increase revenue to the cinema which including Dances and Bingo.

The last film shown at The Winter Gardens was ‘The Train’ starring Burt Lancaster on 4th September 1965.

On the site now stands Kingsway Christian Centre.

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