The Regal Cinema today

I haven't yet posted an image of the Regal as it looks today (the building is currently occupied by the Saints night club). So, better late than never, here's a photo:

 

If you have or know of any photos of the cinema while it was still operating, please get in touch! I'll buy you an ice cream as a reward.

Memories: Ken Favell

I received this wonderful email last week from a Mr Ken Favell, who sent in his memories of the Regal Cinema as well as its predecessor, the Broadway Kinema. Here it is in full (I've polished it a little in places):

I was born in Hemingford, grew up in St Ives and remember the cinema very well. I do recollect going to the old Broadway Kinema as a very young child (5ish) and seeing the last of the old serials. The Kinema was quite highly decorated, mainly pale green I think, with trellis and painted foliage both sides of the screen. There were no restrictions on smoking and since most of the audience did, with no air conditioning, we watched the film through a thick fug - an usherette would go around with a highly scented air spray! The place had a definite unmistakable and unforgettable ambiance of its own.

The door on the right of the screen in the photo led to the toilets and was the rear exit for the cinema, leading out to a passageway to the Broadway... and a cheap way in for young boys when the film had started! 

I do remember the name change to the Regal: early 30s I suppose, but although the general audience appreciated the modernisation - better picture and sound - the décor (as in the picture) was not well liked. All over brown stucco effect, dull and soulless.

We used to have a children's matinee on a Saturday, noisy and unruly partly due to the use of bicycle pumps as weapons which we didn't dare leave on our bikes parked round the back. Only one performance in the evening. The programme usually consisted of a short film, often a western - Gene Autry the singing cowboy and Hopalong Cassidy were the favourites; a cartoon: a travelogue: the newsreel; local adverts; and then the main film, in those days black and white of course. And at the end a mad rush to get out before the National Anthem played, for which we were expected to stand to attention.

Fast forward to 1947. Demobbed from Fleet Air Arm, I worked as service engineer for Charlie Warren who had a small wireless shop on the left of the cinema entrance and a workshop in the old grammar school at the end of the Waits. I was married by then and we had the top flat above the cinema, where in the kitchen at the rear we could hear the soundtrack of the films - quite loudly! 

Update - May 2013

It's been a while since I last updated this blog, but rest assured it's still alive and kicking. I've been making inquiries around St Ives regarding the whereabouts of some souvenirs from the Regal that may have survived. If I can get access to them, I'll be sure to post some photos; I hear they make for rather attractive home furnishings. If you know of any other surviving mementos - old furniture, equipment, even a ticket stub or two - or you have a photograph of the cinema (inside or out) lurking somewhere, please do drop me a line.

I'm also working on plans to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the opening of the cinema in 2020. More on this as they take shape.

More excitingly, I've been contacted by someone who remembers going to the Regal Cinema in its earliest days, when it was still going under the name of the Broadway Kinema. I'll publish the full piece tomorrow, but it's great to know that people are still able to recall going there so many years ago. Remember, if you have any memories yourself of going there, no matter how small, I'm still keen to hear from you - please get in touch.