Penn Cinema

46 Warstones Road,
Wolverhampton, WV4 4LP

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Additional Info

Architects: Roland Satchwell

Firms: Satchwell & Roberts

Styles: Art Deco

Nearby Theaters

Penn Cinema

Located on a 1930’s housing estate in the Penn suburb, southwest of Wolverhampton. The Penn Cinema was opened on 27th December 1937 with The Marx Brothers in “A Day At The Races”. The Penn Cinema was a project of the Penn Cinema Company, formed by Birmingham based accountant and cinema owner B.T. Davis, together with architect Roland Satchwell who designed the building, and other local businessmen.

The facade of the cinema was in brick with a central section over the entrance in white stone, which had five vertical windows, allowing light into the circle foyer. Inside the auditorium, seating was provided in stalls and circle levels.

The Penn Cinema was always operated by the independent Penn Cinema Company who kept it well maintained, even to the end when it was closed on 24th March 1973 with the British comedy film “Ooh…You Are Awful” starring Dick Emery. The owners had been made an ‘offer they couldn’t refuse’ for the site, and it was demolished for a supermarket to be built. Initially a MacMarket, then International Stores, in 2011, it was a Somerfield supermarket. By early-2016 it was a Co-Op supermarket.

Contributed by Ken Roe

Recent comments (view all 4 comments)

Ken Roe
Ken Roe on November 12, 2011 at 3:11 pm

geoffjc; Sorry about the typo, I have corrected the year 1963 to 1973. “Ooh..You Are Awful” was given a Rank release on the third week of January 1973. Second feature was “Some Kind Of Hero”. The US release was in 1974.

Mike_Blakemore
Mike_Blakemore on November 12, 2011 at 3:43 pm

I thought that was odd when reading it.. I joined BT Davis July 1974 at one of his other theatres. Still Ken did do a lot of entries that day….. and Age comes into it.. :o)

Mike_Blakemore
Mike_Blakemore on April 5, 2016 at 6:31 am

The Site is now a Co-op Supermarket..

g4dyr
g4dyr on July 26, 2016 at 5:20 am

Spend many a Sunday afternoon watching the matinee show. A part of my youth and now long gone.

Roy Page, Ohio USA http://www.g4dyr.com

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