Newbury Picture Palace.
Not obvious today, but this was Newbury’s Second Cinema.
Just south of the Methodist Church (which can just be glimpsed to the right) is the former Newbury Picture Palace. This dates back to 1910.
It was beaten by the Newbury Cinema in Cheap Street, which opened a month before. Other, grander cinemas opened shortly afterwards. The Regal, in Bartholomew Street (now demolished and replaced by an Iceland), the Central (later Carlton) in Cheap Street, destroyed by fire in 1950, and the Forum in Park Way, opened in 1939, finally closing in November 1998 under the Robins banner.
Not a lot appears to be documented on this cinema. However, the projection room was above the window level at the front in the slightly overhanging upper floor.
Photograph Details:
- Taken: 19 Aug 2017
- Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10 MkIIA
- Lens: Olympus 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6
- Focal Length 20mm
- F/5
- 1/125 Sec
- ISO 1000
Nice to see this picture as it does give some idea of what the original was like. My step-father told me that he used to go to the cinema there to see the Chaplin films. The other one in Cheap Street became, I believe, a pub with furniture showrooms next door (Frank Perry?).
I remember the Carlton well as I was a regular visitor there. As I recall, its toilets were outside. I remember, too, its burning exit. We lived in Herborough Place and the Carlton was behind us as the crow flies and near enough to be a bit worrying when it caught fire! Do you know of anyone who has a photo of this old fleapit?
The Regal was my nearest cinema and it had, if memory serves me well, a café. It was rather like a long box and when CinemaScope arrived, it was rather like looking at a letterbox. That said, it provided good entertainment.
Though the furthest away, the Forum was my obvious choice, not least because widescreen worked there. It was my focal point as a child as I was an ABC Minor!!
Hope this is of some interest
Eddie (Old Newburian now in Spain)
Thanks Eddie –
Glad this brought back some happy memories for you. There is a book on the history of Newbury. I’m not sure if there is a picture in there.