Capitol Cinema

176 High Street,
Tonbridge, TN9 1AF

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Shipman & King Cinemas Ltd.

Previous Names: Public Hall Cinema

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Capitol Cinema

Located in Tonbridge, Kent. Originally the Public Hall Cinema, which was partially destroyed by fire on 28th December 1926. It was taken over by new owners and restored, re-opening as the Capitol Cinema on 15th October 1928 with Charlie Chaplin in “The Circus”. It had a 20 feet wide proscenium. It was the first cinema in Kent to have an organ installed, in this case it was a Christie 2Manual/5Ranks instrument, that was opened by organist Harold Howell. In October 1930 the cinema was equipped with a Western Electric(WE) sound system.

In 1955, the Capitol Cinema was sold to the Shipman & King circuit. They closed the Capitol Cinema in March 1964. Taken over by the Grade Organisation, it was then taken over by EMI and was converted into a bingo club. In July 1997, the Capitol Cinema was destroyed by a fire which started in an adjacent furniture store. The burnt-out shell of the building remained for some time and was later demolished and a block of flats was built on the site.

Contributed by Ken Roe

Recent comments (view all 1 comments)

rivest266
rivest266 on July 6, 2021 at 12:34 pm

The Capitol opened on October 15th, 1928 with “the Circus”. Grand opening ad posted.

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