The story of The Regal has been somewhat neglected since it closed, and being a former history student who grew up in St Ives and who has developed a keen interest in cinema, I'm eager to rectify that. The Norris Museum has very helpfully supplied what information they have, along with the only known photograph of the cinema's interior in existence:
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| Inside The Regal Cinema, with owners George and Nan Randall |
I want to expand this story as much as possible by getting people to contribute their own memories of the cinema. Can you remember going to see films there? What did you see? How much did you pay? Where were your favourite seats? Do you have a photo of the cinema, either inside or outside? Are there any old programmes lurking in your attic? Whatever your memories, I would love to hear from you: please email me at gavin@midgleys.org.uk. I'll publish any recollections I receive on this blog, and hopefully a picture will emerge of how the cinema played a special part in the life of St Ives.
I've interviewed the last projectionist at The Regal, Mick Anderson, and he's given me plenty of useful information which I'll be publishing here soon. But I need more stories to corroborate and confirm certain details; for example, when it changed its name to The Regal, and when exactly it closed.
I'm on the committee of Screen St Ives, the town's new community cinema which shows films once a month in the St Ives Corn Exchange. We (and I) believe cinema can play a uniquely important part in the life of a community, by bringing people together in a way few other forms of art and entertainment can. So don't let The Regal be forgotten; instead let's celebrate the fact that St Ives once had its very own cinema, no matter how small or quaint it might have been!
