Grand Cinema
Church Street,
Frodsham,
WA6
Church Street,
Frodsham,
WA6
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According to the Chester Cinemas website entry for this cinema, upon closure, the Grand tried bingo unsuccessfully.
Not as I know of. This, I think, is when it was being demolished to make way for other uses.
“Was there a fire in the Grand Cinema in the above photo?”
The site was later occupied by the Mark Down supermarket which has now become a branch of W.H.Smith.
The neon was just above the windows at the top. The entrance doors were in red. I went to the cinema on a number of occasions and remember sitting through twice to see the Kubrick film Paths of Glory. Occasionally I would visit the balcony and if you sat near the back, you could faintly hear the projector. Also, as the cinema was built by the railway station, a vibration could be felt when a train passed over the bridge, which led to the station.
At the top of the building was a red neon sign spelling GRAND. Back in the 1940s, the cinema staged occasional live amateur shows. The screen was pushed back for these. A Mr Tom Fyall, who was the manager had his own dance troupe called Tom Fyall’s Dainty Dots. Other entertainers included the Josy Taylor accordian band from Wales, comedian Archie Warren and singer Lorna Plummer. The hall was coloured red and gold. The curtains (tabs) were red with a gold fringe. Seating was red tip-up. The last manager was a Mr James Turner, who was known locally as Jimmy Pictures.
Frodsham Cinema Company Ltd first owned the Grand. By the early 1940s it was run by Byrom Picture Houses Ltd based at 51a Rodney Street, Liverpool. A Mr Philip M. Hamner, who also booked the films ran this.
In the summer, entrance doors to the auditorium would be left open and a curtain would be pulled across to block out light. Some seats at the rear of the auditorium were reserved for staff only.