Elite Cinema

The Elite Cinema opened prior to 1937 in the small market town of Ashbourne in Derbyshire, it was run by local proprietor Frank S. Bromwich who also designed the cinema and ran the towns other cinema, the Empire Cinema.

The Elite Cinema is located in the main square-Market Place of the town and was much more upmarket than the Empire Cinema.

The facade is simple classical red brick with a stone parapet and a series of tall arched windows, and two shop units either side of the entry.

This has changed very little since it was built, with only the loss of the ornate metal torch lamps either side of the entry.

Internally there was a small lobby with a tiny box office window and doors into the stalls, and a staircase with metal handrails led up to the balcony. The auditorium had a simple barrel ceiling and there was an arched proscenium with ornate mouldings and small stage.
There was little other decoration apart from Art Deco style glass wall lights.

The Elit Cinema closed in 1976 and after a few years of lying empty was converted into a mini shopping arcade in the stalls area (no sign of the auditorium remained) and a nightclub in the balcony with a dancefloor inserted across from the bottom of the balcony cutting the auditorium in two horizontally.
The upper proscenium arch remained and some ceiling decoration.

It remains in this use in 2009.

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