Odeon Lancing

Located on Penhill Road which is not a major road, at the corner of Ingleside Road, in Lancing, near Worthing. The Odeon Lancing was the fifth cinema to be built in the Oscar Deutsch chain of Odeon Theatres Ltd., and was never a great success. The architect is unknown, as plans were ‘arranged’ by the local builder W.A. Gates & Sons.

The Odeon was opened on 31st October 1933 with George Arliss in "The King’s Vacation". The front of the building blended in with the 1930’s housing in the area, and had a tiled roof. There was a small shop on each side of the entrance. There was a cafe located on the first floor, above the entrance. The auditorium was set well back from, and ran parallel to Penhill Road, with all seating on a single floor. The side walls of the auditorium had painted decorative scenes of bushes and trees, with hills behind, giving an Atmospheric style feel, although there were no twinkling stars in the ceiling.

The Odeon was re-named Regal Cinema on 2nd March 1936, and on 7th March 1939, it was leased to an independent operator. Closed on 23rd March 1940, it was re-opened on 16th October 1941 by a new operator.

The Regal Cinema was taken back into the Odeon Theatres chain on 30th August 1942, and was re-named Odeon again on 25th March 1945. It was closed for good on 20th January 1950 with David Niven in “Appointment With Venus” and Barry Nelson in “The Man With My Face”. It was taken over by the Shipman & King chain, who offered it for sale, and they also purchased the Luxor Cinema in Lancing, keeping that open.

Over the following years, it has been used as a chromium plating works, and a welding & engineering workshop. Re-named Regal House in 1996, it became a garage in the auditorium, with Leaneys plumbers merchants operating in the foyer.

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