Regal Cinema

In Standon, Hertfordshire, the Gem Super Cinema opened on Easter Monday, 22nd April 1935 with “The Campbells are Coming” starring Jack Hulbert, and “Re-Union” starring Lila Lee. It was owned by Mr. L. G. Attree, an electrician from Bishop’s Stortford. The 607 seats were essentially on a single floor, with only a step to separate the ‘balcony’ from the stalls. There were two boxes, each seating five, at the rear. There was parking for 100 cars and a cafe.

An example of a cinema that should never have been built, the Gem Cinema was located amid green fields between Standon and Puckeridge. The owner had hoped that people would come from the surrounding villages and hamlets, but the lack of public transport had, seemingly, been overlooked, and the few who had cars seemed to prefer the more sophisticated larger towns. In 1937 the Gem Cinema was taken over by Lou Morris, who refurbished it and re-opened it, as the Regal Cinema on Thursday 2nd September 1937, now surprisingly, with an increased 644 seats. For four years during the war, the Regal Cinema was turned into a sugar store. It re-opened on Monday 3rd February 1947 with the war documentary “Theirs is the Glory”, now operated by London & Provincial Cinemas. But business failed to pick up.

In the 1950’s the front stalls were removed, reducing seating to 385, for rock ‘n’ roll sessions on Wednesday evenings, but the cinema could not be saved. Eventually, on Saturday 30th September 1961, following a two-day run of the ironically titled “Carry on Regardless”, starring Sid James and Kenneth Connor, the Regal Cinema closed.

In later years the building was converted into the premises of the Willesden Transformer Company and the Cameron Instrument Company, the ground floor being levelled and an upper floor inserted. But by September 1997, when my photograph was taken, the building was boarded up. By 2002 it had been demolished and replaced by housing.

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