PlymouthSuburban

The Warner Village cinema opened on 27th May 1999, at the
Barbican Leisure Centre in the presence of the broadcaster
Jonathan Ross and model, Caprice. This was Warner's 100th
multiplex and said to be their largest, at that time. The
whole development cost £40 million, £15 million was the
multiplex cinema, on a former British Gas works site at
Coxside.

The complex boasts Dolby Digital in every screen and has THX
certification. The 15 screens seat a total of 3,387 arranged
as follows: 1~175, 2~189, 3~153, 4~196, 5~188, 6~133, 7~292,
8~454, 9~498, 10~257, 11~215, 12~133, 13~127, 14~190 15~187.

Although built within a larger leisure structure, the cinema
has its own quite separate and distinctive entrance. This is
dominated by an enormous curving bay window drawing light
into the multi-level foyer areas. This in turn is caped with a
large thin slab of concrete set at an angle to the front
elevation, and punctured by a trademark Warner Pylon which
rises triumphantly into the sky at its furthest point to hold
the Warner & Village logos. The foyer is very unusual in
layout and design. This has to represent one of the finest
Warner Village cinemas built in this country.

The Ford Palladium is situated on the corner of St Levan's Road and
Ford Hill. A conversion of a building shed, opened by Gwyther
EastLake Prance on 9th August 1917 as Ford Palladium Ltd. A gallery
was added a year later, increasing seating to 430. The lease passed to
Henry Banks Bambridge Mathers in 1927 who continued to run the
cinema for 35 years. RCA sound was installed and seating reduced to
383.

Mr Cyril John Charters became manager in 1954 having previously been
the projectionist. Mr Mather sold the lease to him when he retired,
and Mr Charters continued to run the cinema until closure on 15th
November 1964. The building became a DIY store and was badly
damaged by fire on 26th January 1994. Rebuilt, the exterior still
retains features from its cinema days.

The Belgrave Hall was opened in 1909 at 2 Belgrave Road, on
the site of stables formally known as Devon & Cornwall Horse
Bazaar. By July 1910 Mr W Dobie had taken a cinema licence
for the premises and opened as Belgrave Hall Electric Theatre
with wooden bench seating.

By 1914 Joseph Mont Gilpin had taken over the operation and
in 1921 improvements were made under plans by architects
Messrs. Thornely & Rooke. Film shows continued throughout
the works which cost £6,000. Mr Gilpin created the company
Belgrave Picture Theatre (Plymouth) Ltd. The stalls seated
541 and the balcony 132, a total of 673. Mr Gilpin sold the
company at auction to Thomas Hoyle for £5,550 who's family
ran the cinema until 1951. A British Acoustic sound system
was installed.

Sold to Embassy Cinema (Plymouth) Ltd, operated by John
Prance (a member of the Prance family) and continued to be
operated by him as Belgrave Cinema until its closure on 26th
March 1983 showing First Blood. CinemaScope had been
installed and with the dispute between Rank and 20th
Century Fox over installation of Stereophonic sound, the
Belgrave obtained many excellent films in the 1950s that
should have gone to the larger Rank owned cinemas in the
city.. In use today as a snooker hall.

It is likely that the very fine frontage was added as part of
the improvements in 1921. The fact that this cinema lasted
until 1983 is quite extraordinary considering it is tucked away
down a residential side road within a short walk of central
Plymouth.

Owned by the wife of William J Lindsdell who operated the Cinedrome, Ebrington Street, this
cinema opened January 1914 on the corner of Ford Park Road and Mutley Plain. It was equipped with
wooden benches, an 18' wide screen and its own generator in the basement.

Transferred to John Mumford in December 1921, he renamed it Argyle. He sold the cinema to
Samuel W Hodgess in 1922 and he renamed it Roseville Empire, but an offence under the
Cinematograph Act in April 1923 saw its closure. Later demolished..

Situated in Victoria Street in a prominent position, the
building is striking for its unceasing use of brick. This
suburban cinema opened 16th November 1939 with That
Certain Age, and was equiped with 1000 seats and an RCA
sound system. Built by St Budeaux Cinema Company Ltd. it
was soon sold to Gwent & West of England Cinemas, which
was under the control of A lbert J ackson Withers, of Park
Place, Cardiff.

This building is rather heavy looking and just a bit drab. With
it opening after war had been declared it is possible that the
design was scaled back somewhat. Originally there would
have been a nice large window over the entrance to let light
into the foyer and a 24' by 18' screen.

Being situated in the outer suburbs of Plymouth it struggled
more than most to keep an audience in the 1950s. The
cinema was the first in Plymouth to install 4 Channel
Stereophonic sound and a large 39' wide CinemaScope screen
was installed by 1959 within its 42' proscenium.

A final attempt was made to encourage patronage when the cinema changed its name to Mayflower,
as part of the cities year long Mayflower celebrations in 1970. It closed 3rd March 1973 with the
enlightened programme Soldier Blue and Carnal Knowledge. It became a bingo hall, however a few
childrens Saturday Matinee shows continued until total closure in January 1976. It is now operating
with a snooker hall in the auditorium and a carpet shop in the foyer.