Bideford

This delightful fruit and veg shop is an unlikely
cinema entrance, however the shop surround
could be visualised as the entrance to a
cinema, with perhaps a paybox just inside.
The shop is situated in the foyer with a
snooker club (still called Palladium) in the
auditorium to the rear (opposite the Bijou).

Situated on Mill Street, this cinema appears to
have opened toward the end of World War I
and was run by H G Brain. By 1923 this small
cinema had been taken over by Norman
Robertson. Mr Norman soon acquired the large
Palace and closed the Palladium in late 1920s.

In 1991 film shows commenced in this building on the Bideford College campus using 16mm. The shows
were part time as the theatre is also used for live shows and the building is open to the general public.
The 16mm equipment was soon replaced by 35mm. In 1998 the equipment failed and the cinema operation
ceased. At this time the theatre received a grant from District Council of £12,000 allowed new projectors
and retractable seating for 181 to be installed, reopening May 1999, as a full time cinema, with some live
shows.

Soon afterwards the cinema operation was again in trouble and in 2001 was taken over by the newly
formed Bideford Film Society, who now run the film shows part time. This was made possible by a grant
from the Bridge Trust and Town Council. They play the National Anthem at the end of the evening.

Situated in Bridgeland Street this building had originally been a school. It had
been run as a music hall by J E Squire for a number of years, seating about
700. Squire & Son certainly had a licence for cinema in the early 1920s. The
building had an elaborate Victorian Gothic facade.

In 1928 Norman Robertson who was running the Palladium, formed Palace
Theatre (Bideford) Limited and took over the Palace. The stage was 20' deep
and the proscenium 22' wide. BTH Sound was installed. By 1938 Bideford
Entertainments Ltd, under Maurice Prince who built the Strand cinema were
in control, but the cinema remained under Palace Theatre (Bideford) Ltd
ownership up to closure.

Whether it was Norman Robertson or Maurice Prince that modernised the
Palace is unclear, however during the 1930s a modern stone facade replaced
the Gothic exterior, and there may also have also been improvements to the
inside.

In the 1950s the cinema licence noted that no children should be admitted to
the balcony. The cinema ceased operating in 1961.

The Strand Cinema was built by Maurice Prince as a sister cinema
to his Regal, Barnstaple. With less competition the Strand was
smaller and a less decorative building, but a fine example of late
1930s small town super cinema. Built on the site of a sports
ground on Kingsley Road the famous architect David E Nye FIAA
of Westminster was the designer. He had been responsible for
such cinemas as the Embassy Fareham and the Rex
Berkhampstead.

The brick facade was caped by a strip of decorative faience. At
the very top centre was a flag pole, below which was the sign.
Below the sign were three small square windows and below these
three larger windows for the circle lounge, and at the base below
the canopy four sets of double doors. The two towers are set
slightly out from the main facade and had display cases at their
base. Above this was a column of faience leading to small square
windows high up on the frontage. Smart if slightly plain the
facade benefited from a location set back from the road with a
driveway and raised flower beds in front.

The foyer was wide but not deep with a central entrance to
stalls with pay boxes either side and then stairs to circle, all on
the back wall. The foyer was plain except for a delightful
frieze featuring fish, bubbles and underwater plants. There
was a large trough light fitting in the ceiling. The auditorium
had a 40' wide proscenium and decorative coving in three
layers ending above the exit doors. The side walls are plain
except for plaster flower patterns running across the walls
with three colour tones rising up the walls. There were at
least 4 sets of tabs and possibly a further 4 festoons, although
some may have been fake.

The cinema was opened by Mayor H W Greenwood Esq on
21.07.1938, owned by Bideford Amusements Ltd. The
programme included Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo, Don Donald -
Walt Disney Cartoon and the main feature, Prisoner of Zenda.
The sound system was BTH and the building had its own
cloakroom. The cinema could seat around 800.

In 1970s the cinema was purchased along with the Regal
Barnstaple by Stratford on Avon Picture House Co. Ltd, and
was associated with the Clifton Circuit in some way. The
cinema closed 2.5.1981 with The Mirror Cracked. James
Robertson took a 21 year lease on the Strand and Regal
cinemas and the Strand reopened on 24.05.1981 with Way of
the Dragon and Fist of Fury. But within a year it closed again.
In 1984 Mr G Potter tried to make the cinema pay but without
success. By 1988 it became a nightclub, which also closed very
soon after and the building lay derelict for a number of years.
Somehow it had its roof removed and so was soon in need of
demolition, which took place in 1991. However a few light
fittings were saved and were installed in the foyer of the Rebel
cinema, Bude.