Coliseum Cinema
High Street,
Bentley,
DN5 0AP
High Street,
Bentley,
DN5 0AP
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The Coliseum Cinema was built on the High Street in Bentley, a town near Doncaster in South Yorkshire. It opened on the 7th September 1914. A brick built frontage of 120 foot composed of the cinema entrance with two shops on either side with two billiard halls on the first floor. Seating was for 1,400, 900 in the stalls and 500 in the circle. The proscenium opening measured 30 feet wide and a stage to accommodate live productions. There were eight dressing rooms and the cinema was lit entirely by electricity with the most modern ventilation equipment. In September 1931 it was equipped with an A.W.H sound system. In 1935 it was replaced by a Western Electric(WE) sound system.
Always independently operated, the Coliseum Cinema was still open in 1963, but had closed by 1966, and was subsequently converted into a gymnasium.
Following a fire in September 1981, the shell of the Coliseum Buildings was rebuilt as shops, occupied in 2009 by Tesco Express supermarket.
Contributed by
Richard Roper (abcman)
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
Bentley’s sole cinema, when it opened its projectors were supplied by Gaumont, from their branch in Leeds. An A.W.H. sound system was installed in September 1931. Depending on the configuration AWH’s installations ranged from £400 to £750. Payment was either cash within 14 days of installing, or 18-months on hire purchase. There was a £50 installation charge which covered an engineer for two weeks. Thereafter, service support was £2 weekly or £5 monthly. It is telling that the vastly more expensive Western Electric system was installed around 1935.