Classic Stockwell

211 Clapham Road,
London, SW9 0QH

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Classic Cinemas (UK), Lou Morris

Functions: Bar, Restaurant

Styles: Neo-Classical

Previous Names: Stockwell Palladium, Ritz Cinema, Classic International Theatre, Tatler Film Club

Nearby Theaters

Classic Stockwell

Located in the southwest London inner city district of Stockwell. Originally opened as the Stockwell Palladium around 1915. The building is located diagonally across the road from Stockwell Underground (tube) rail station. It was reconstructed and re-opened as the Ritz Cinema on 11th September 1937. All seating was on one floor.

By 1954 it was operated by the small Lou Morris chain and was taken over by Classic Repertory Cinemas Ltd. who re-named it Classic Cinema from 1st December 1957. In the Summer of 1967 (May through August) it began screening foreign films and was known as the Classic International Theatre. Reverting back to screening ‘Classic’ movies again and taking the Classic Cinema name from 6th August 1967.

From 3rd August 1969 it began screening un-censored adult films and was re-named Tatler Film Club, the first film being “I A Woman”. Occasionally it did screen non-sexual films which had been refused a British Board of Film Censor’s certificate, such as Peter Fonda in “The Trip”.

It became the Classic Cinema once again from 19th August 1979 when regular films were shown. It closed on 17th January 1981 with Clint Eastwood in “Any Which Way You Can”. The building became a snooker club for many years. The became a community centre for refugees. It them became a restaurant named the Klassic. In 2017 it became an Ethiopean restaurant/bar named Lucy-1st.

Contributed by Ken Roe

Recent comments (view all 3 comments)

KitGreen
KitGreen on September 21, 2011 at 7:31 pm

The only time I went to this cinema was to see The Empire Strikes Back. This cannot have been long before final closure. The auditorium was rather odd in that it seemed much wider than it was deep, although the screen was quite small in relation to the wall it was in. The projection was so dim that it was difficult to see!

popcorn_pete
popcorn_pete on July 17, 2016 at 12:36 am

The building was more recently the Third Space bar and lounge with a chill-out bar downstairs and a funky dance bar upstairs. As of July 2016 the ground floor is an African bar and restaurant called Lucy 1st.

rivest266
rivest266 on August 4, 2021 at 6:10 pm

1969 grand opening ad posted.

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