Redruth

The gardens set inside the romantic ruins of this building
must make this one of the most unusual cinema sites in the
country. Originally opened in 1859 as The Druid's Hall,
Penryn Street, it housed a library, an assembly hall and a
theatre. It is suggested that a cinema operation may have
been present since 1908, run by Messrs Cocks and Baker. The
cinema in the building was called The Picturedrome (1910)
run by Mr William Henry Jenkin. When he died in 1926 his
wife Clara continued to operate the cinema until 1935.

The building of the modern Regal, just around the corner in
1935 did not close this cinema, it was taken over on 4th
September 1935 by Gwyther Eastlake Prance, who operated
a number of cinemas in Cornwall, becoming The Gem from
15th February 1936. His cinemas including the Gem were
taken over by Albert Jackson Withers, based in Cardiff and
became part of the Cornwall Circuit of that company. The
cinema seated 450, 331 on the main floor and 119 in a
balcony. The proscenium width was 23'. The sound system
used was BTH, British Thomson Houston. The cinema turned
to bingo by the late 1950s until it burnt down in 1984.

The cinema was upstairs and the projection box may have
been set on the back wall. The run of the staircase can still
be seen with bright pink paint, and a ledge with cast iron
brackets appears on the white washed rear wall. There was
also a separate entrance at the back of the building so if the
queue was long at the front the more canny would walk
around the back to jump the queue. At the opposite end of
"St Rumon's Garden" is a small raised stage for open air
performances, so the building can still act as a venue for art
and entertainment.

The Regal, Fore Street opened on 2nd December 1935, with seating for 982
on a semi stadium plan. Opened by Gwyther Eastlake Prance as part of his
Sound & Movement Cinemas Ltd which he ran in partnership with W
Mumford, they operated a number of cinemas in Cornwall, that were taken
over by Albert Jackson Withers of Cardiff 7th December 1942 to become
part of that company's Cornwall Circuit. The original sound system was
British Thomson Houston. In the 1960s the cinema was equipped with
CinemaScope and stereophonic sound, Western Electric.

When the Cornwall Circuit was taken by Rank the cinema was sold to
independent Vivian Bartle and in 1983 the former café area was converted
into an 80 seat screen 2. The auditorium was tripled in 1986 with seating
for 600 front area and 172 & 121 rear area. It was taken over by Geoff
Greaves of Merlin Cinemas on 24th July 1998. Screen 1 has retained its
stage facilities and allows the cinema to operate as the towns theatre
when required. Screen 1 also has Digital Sound. The cinema was closed
briefly in 2002 for rewiring.

The exterior is a very fine 1930s art deco design complete with
tower and cinema name placed between horizontal strips. The
windows have been blocked in for the screen in the former café
but the whole facade is still striking. Further wonders await in
the foyer, circular in shape the low ceiling commands you to
observe the stunning art deco design at the centre of the floor.

This is beyond doubt the finest cinema building in Cornwall. The
plans were drawn up by an Australian architect called Smith
working for W illiam H enry Watkins FRIBA, Bristol. The most
striking feature is the tower or fin structure that powerfully drives
up through the left of the frontage, and up into the air above the
cinema. The size of this fin should not be under estimated, it
runs about 23' into the building, or to make it clearer, nearly the
depth of the foyer. Originally there was a glass lit central feature
rising the full height and according to the plan had the words
"cinema & café" detailed into it. The feature today has been
boxed over. Even more striking if actually constructed (no sign
remains today), was a large glass "observation" type structure set
on top of the fin attaching to the vertical sign feature. Being lit
internally and plainly visible from both hills leading toward the
cinema, this would have been ideal to advertise the cinemas
presence.

Internally the foyer has to perform a trick. The auditorium is set
at a different angle to the facade by approximately 20 degrees. By
creating a circular foyer the architect disguises the fact, as
without obvious side and back walls the patrons were unlikely to
notice the change in direction, and with a stunning central floor
feature acting as a pivot for this change in direction was a well
thought out design element. From the foyer were doors to a small
lounge (off to the left - originally had gold coloured rattan chairs
and glass topped rattan tables) and stairs to the café, above the
foyer. Light gained entry to the café by the large windows
running across the frontage, the kitchen was placed under the
large fin structure with a single window beyond the fin.

From the foyer are steps down to the vestibule, where a cloakroom and
toilets were available before entering the fan shaped auditorium. There
was a front stalls entrance and foyer set to the left of the stage. The stage
had an orchestra pit and 35' wide proscenium. The projection box was
placed above the raised area of seating. It has also been said that a colour
lit fountain was contained in the building, possibly in the café. The walls of
the cafe had drawings of deer and what appears to be a young couple
skating. The auditorium is quite plain with leaves painted on the side walls.