This is quite a personal one for me. My mum remembers visiting here during the 1940's and 50's before most homes had TVs. It wasn't just films that were shown - this is where you'd go to see footage of the important news events of the day. For example, she remembers school visits to see the Queens coronation and the newsreel which documented Hillary conquering Everest.
The Coliseum opened in 1931 with "Romance" starring Greta Garbo. It was partly art-deco style and seated 630. Its sound system was state of the art for its day. Fast forward to 1983 and the management decided that it was no longer financially viable.
However, the locals were not prepared to see their beloved picture house bite the dust so they clubbed together and it re-opened in 1984 and was mostly run by volunteers. 1,000 residents bought £50,000 worth of shares. Things seemed to be going well - in 1995 it hosted a European Premiere of First Knight starring Sean Connery and Richard Gere (although they didn't appear on the red carpet).
Sadly despite all the efforts the venture couldn't carry on and the doors finally shut in January 2011. Worse news was to arrive 2014, when the group set up to save the cinema had its plans rejected by the Coliseum Shareholders, who voted to sell the property rather than grant a long-term lease to the Friends of The Coliseum. Once in the hands of the developers the game was up.
I had been keeping an eye on the place for some time in the hope that I could have a sneaky mooch around inside. No such luck, I also asked for a permission visit but as there's no money in it for the developers this was ignored. So I happened to get speaking to a guy who was removing the seats (they were being taken to Sheffield) and I managed to just take a few crap hurried shots in the dark auditorium. A couple of days later I had another look around the back and - I could hardly believe it - an entry point! Perseverance had paid off just in time. My photos were taken 2 days before demolition began. There seemed to be a big hurry to knock it down, however almost 4 years on there's still no redevelopment, just an empty space.
Firstly some pics from the www from when it was a functioning cinema. Some much older photos show it originally had a porch above the front steps and some 'embellishments' either side of the name.
Red carpet day
A couple of interior archive pics
And so on to my pics, firstly the auditorium with some chairs still in situ
And one with virtually all the chairs gone
I just wondered about all the people that would have gone up these stairs full of anticipation...
The projection room
Prep room
The darkroom
There were a few quotes from well-known films on the walls upstairs, presumably written by the projectionists
Forever lost property
Of all the photos of abandoned buildings I personally think this one is one of the most poignant I've taken
And finally a few bits of memorabilia
The Coliseum opened in 1931 with "Romance" starring Greta Garbo. It was partly art-deco style and seated 630. Its sound system was state of the art for its day. Fast forward to 1983 and the management decided that it was no longer financially viable.
However, the locals were not prepared to see their beloved picture house bite the dust so they clubbed together and it re-opened in 1984 and was mostly run by volunteers. 1,000 residents bought £50,000 worth of shares. Things seemed to be going well - in 1995 it hosted a European Premiere of First Knight starring Sean Connery and Richard Gere (although they didn't appear on the red carpet).
Sadly despite all the efforts the venture couldn't carry on and the doors finally shut in January 2011. Worse news was to arrive 2014, when the group set up to save the cinema had its plans rejected by the Coliseum Shareholders, who voted to sell the property rather than grant a long-term lease to the Friends of The Coliseum. Once in the hands of the developers the game was up.
I had been keeping an eye on the place for some time in the hope that I could have a sneaky mooch around inside. No such luck, I also asked for a permission visit but as there's no money in it for the developers this was ignored. So I happened to get speaking to a guy who was removing the seats (they were being taken to Sheffield) and I managed to just take a few crap hurried shots in the dark auditorium. A couple of days later I had another look around the back and - I could hardly believe it - an entry point! Perseverance had paid off just in time. My photos were taken 2 days before demolition began. There seemed to be a big hurry to knock it down, however almost 4 years on there's still no redevelopment, just an empty space.
Firstly some pics from the www from when it was a functioning cinema. Some much older photos show it originally had a porch above the front steps and some 'embellishments' either side of the name.
Red carpet day
A couple of interior archive pics
And so on to my pics, firstly the auditorium with some chairs still in situ
And one with virtually all the chairs gone
I just wondered about all the people that would have gone up these stairs full of anticipation...
The projection room
Prep room
The darkroom
There were a few quotes from well-known films on the walls upstairs, presumably written by the projectionists
Forever lost property
Of all the photos of abandoned buildings I personally think this one is one of the most poignant I've taken
And finally a few bits of memorabilia
