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Gazetteer
Camborne Electric Cinema, by 1915 run by Mr
H Burrows' West of England Cinemas Ltd who
was running the St Georges Hall across town.
The venue never adopting sound. Later
taken by Mr W J Davey. The Public Rooms
had been built on Trevenson Street in 1890
for entertainment and meetings.
Street was a substancial building when it opened in 1862
containing the Town Hall, Public Hall and Assembly
Rooms. The Assembly Rooms had been the first venue for
moving pictures in Camborne when Poole's Myriorama
visited.
In 1911 an extra upper storey was added to the building,
just detectable in the facade, and by incorporating some
of the existing rooms created St George's Hall. The hall
was on the first and second floors (the ground floor was
shops and Magistrates courts. There was a gallery in a
horseshoe shape around the auditorium ending at the
proscenium which was 30' wide, the stage was 14' deep
with 4 dressing rooms. There was seating for about 1000.
Around 1913 a cinema was established here, operated by
Mr H Burrows who would also operate the Public Rooms
Cinema, his company was West of England Cinemas Ltd.
The seating capacity was 850. There was also a dance hall
within the building. Mr Burrow, a photographer put on
the very first public bioscope show in Camborne, with a
nightly open air presentation in the Market Square in
1909.
installed BA - British Acoustic sound. The cinema was sold to Gwyther Eastlake Prance of Plymouth
on 22nd March 1937. Prance's Sound & Movement Cinemas Ltd had in 1936 built the large modern
King's cinema a short distance, the cinema was renamed Scala. Albert Jackson Withers of Cardiff
took over Prance's cinemas in 1942 to become part of his Cornwall Circuit. CinemaScope was
installed in the 1950s and it is believed the Scala closed in the early 1960s, the interior of the
building now consists of a number of nightclubs and bars called collectively The Berkeley Centre.
luxury house of the Bassett family when it burnt down in 1919.
The shell remained and was rebuilt internally. The cinema
operation at the Tehidy Sanatorium, on the outskirts of
Camborne started on 22nd February 1936 by Dr E J Gaspey. The
screenings were held in the Recreation Hall which was most likely
the houses former large ballroom. The Cinematograph Record
states 140 seats but adds the following note:
Later a Golf Club House, the building is now private residences next to Tehidy Country Park in the grounds
Mumford of Plymouth for their expanding circuit, Sound &
Movement Cinemas. They commissioned famous Bristol
architect William Henry Watkins to design this and two other
cinemas in Cornwall for their company (Also Regal Redruth and
Plaza Truro). The actual architect responsible for the cinemas
was an Australian working for Watkins called Smith. The
builders were Carkeck & Sons Ltd.
Thought to have opened around 9th April 1936 the Kings seated
982, slightly less than the 1044 proposed by the original plans.
The breakdown of seating on the plan was 780 in the stalls and
284 in the circle. There was a shop to either side of the
entrance and three tall windows dominated the frontage. The
sound system was BTH, British Thomson Houston.
In 1942 it was taken over by Albert Jackson Withers, of Cardiff
to became part of his Cornwall Circuit. Situated in the town
centre on Chapel Street, the site was previously occupied by
some large houses. CinemaScope was fitted in 1956. Closed in
the early 1970s.
Now a bingo operation with a modernised frontage you can just
make out evidence of the windows and column features on the
frontage above the entrance.
from about 1948
for a big Bank
Holiday film
showing at the
Cornwall
Circuit's three
main houses,
including the
Camborne Kings
programmes
dating
from 1962
for the
Kings
Camborne
Vincent's Hippodrome ~ Palace ~ Cameo
entertainments the building became a cinema called the Palace.
The original frontage was very grand in a sort of baroque style
with a high oval facade. The seating capacity was 317: 256 in the
stalls and 61in the balcony. Th proscenium width was 30'. The
Cinematograph Licence states that no rewinding of films was
allowed during any performance, a further note states that a
separate rewinding room was provided from 8th September 1936.
The first operater was S Rogers then by Percival R Slater of the
Palace cinema at Hayle.
Palace, in the late 1990s
Edibell, soon replaced by Morrison. In later years the cinema
enjoyed CinemaScope and RCA sound. Later purchased by
Rowland Hill, of the Palace Theatre, Truro and through him
licenced to Percival Richard Slater, later leased to Duchy Cinemas
Ltd. The Palace changed its name in later years to Cameo and
mostly showed adult films closing on 28th March 1985.
programme
from 1968
