Ritz Cinema
13 Frances Street,
Newtownards,
BT23 3DW
13 Frances Street,
Newtownards,
BT23 3DW
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The original cinema on this site was The Palace Unity De-Luxe which opened on 8 January 1921. It was a replacement for The Palace, also in Frances Street which had opened on 18 October 1913 as Our Picture House. Within a few weeks it had become Your Picture House. Then around 15 January 1916 it changed its name, again, to The Palace (possibly because the town’s other cinema was called The Picture House). The Palace (a wooden building) was destroyed by fire on 2 November 1918.
Robert Morrison, the owner of The Palace was determined to find a new, more suitable, building and purchased the former Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church premises at 15 Frances Street (the congregation had relocated). Members of this denomination were often referred to as Unitarians and this may have been the reason why Morrison initially included Unity in the name of his new cinema. He died in 1925 and the business was subsequently run by his son Campbell, who had been managing the cinema.
The last business day under ABC ownership was Saturday 16th July 1966. The first films shown by the new owners, Solar Cinemas Ltd of Belfast, were screened on the following Monday, the 18th. Solar, who also owned the town’s other cinema, the Regent, retained the Ritz name.
However, the new set-up was relatively shortlived. Solar subsequently did a deal to sell the premises and as a consequence the decades of film shows at the Ritz came to an end on Saturday 4th November 1967.