Magna Cinema
27 Long Street,
Wigston Magna,
LE18 2BP
27 Long Street,
Wigston Magna,
LE18 2BP
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Built for and operated by brothers George & Milford Cockroft, who later went on to build the Lawn Cinema, Birstall, the Oadby Cinema, Oadby and the Fosse Cinema, Leicester. Located on Long Lane at the corner with Willow Place in Wigston Magna, an outer district of Leicester. The Magna Cinema opened on 26th December 1934 with Gracie Fields in "Sing As We Go". The narrow entance was faced in white stone. To the right of the entrance was an old cottage, which was incorporated into the cinema building and used as offices. Seating in the auditorium was provided in stalls and circle levels. The cinema boasted a large car park for the convenience of its patrons.
In the mid-1960’s, bingo was introduced on Sunday afternoons, but it never took over totally from films. The Magna Cinema was the last of the suburban Leicester cinemas to close, when in March 1986, the final film was Sylvester Stallone in "Rocky IV".
It was converted into Chalkies Snooker Club, with the floors being leveled and a false ceiling installed. A new entrance was installed on the car park side of the building. The snooker club closed in 1991, and the building was sold for re-development. It was demolished in 1992, and Magna Nursing Homes were built on the site.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
Hello, I’ve read through your overview of the Wigston Magna Cinema. I am the son in Law of Milford Cockroft who was known as the “picture man” who ran the magna cinema from 1960s to its closure in 1986. There is a couple of bits in your overview that are incorrect including the spelling of the surname. If you’d like any more information please feel free to message me…