The Regent cinema in Bramley Cross, which closed in 2007 and was at one stage earmarked for demolition, reopened on Friday night after a six-year restoration carried out largely by volunteers. Around 400 people filled the auditorium for the first screening, a restored print of a black-and-white comedy from the year the cinema opened.
Built in 1934, the Regent is one of the last surviving art deco picture houses in the region. When it closed, water was coming through the roof and much of the plasterwork had fallen. A community trust bought the building from its owner for a nominal sum in 2020 and raised €2.4 million through grants, donations and a share offer to local residents.
Every seat in this room has been unbolted, cleaned, re-covered and screwed back by someone from the neighbourhood.
So said trust chair Agnieszka Thornbury, who estimates that more than 600 volunteers have worked on the project. Specialist craftspeople restored the ornamental ceiling and the sunburst pattern above the screen, while volunteers stripped paint, rewired the foyer and repaired 420 seats. A modern digital projector has been installed, but the original 1930s projectors have been kept and can still show film.
Programme for everyone
The cinema will open five nights a week with a mix of new releases, classics and films chosen by community groups. There will be relaxed screenings for people with dementia and their carers, and Saturday morning shows for children at €3 a ticket. A café in the old ice-cream kiosk opens next month.
Local councillor Bridget Ollerton, who campaigned against demolition, said the reopening had already boosted the area's shops and restaurants. Projectionist Albert Kingsley, who worked at the Regent from 1971 until it closed, was back in the box for the opening night. "I never thought I would climb those stairs again," he said.
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