Maxime Cinema
Leigh Road,
Street,
BA16 0HA
Leigh Road,
Street,
BA16 0HA
1 person
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Miles Byrne Group
Functions: Bar, Restaurant
Previous Names: Playhouse
Nearby Theaters
In the small town of Street, near Glastonbury in Somerset, a cinema was opened in a Victorian public hall by a local lady, Mrs. H. Voake (who, it is thought, owned the building). There was already a 20ft deep stage, four dressing rooms and a 26ft wide proscenium. A fireproof projection box was installed within the existing building.
The opening date of the Playhouse was January 1921. From July 1946 it was renamed Maxime Cinema.
A variety of owners included Cornell Cinemas (Sketty) Ltd. (post World War II; this company is listed in the 1953 Kinematograph Year Book) and, from the mid-1950’s, Myles Byrne Cinemas Ltd. CinemaScope was installed in the late-1950’s.
The Maxime Cinema closed in September 1989 with Michael Keaton in “Batman”. When I visited, in April 2000, the building was occupied by Maxime’s night club. More recently the night club has been called Envy. In June 2015 club owner Adam Fynn announced plans to relocate, with the former cinema being transformed into residential units. The nightclub closed on December 31, 2016. In May 2019 the building reopened as a bar & grill.
Contributed by
David Simpson
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
Somersetlive.co.uk gives the opening date as January 1921 as the Playhouse. In July 1946 the name changed to Maxime and films ceased in September 1989.
I think my grandfather – Fred Seymour – was manager here when it was Maxime. Anyone have any memory of him?
In May 2019 it was reported that local entrepreneur Kevin Newton and his restoration team have brought back to life features from the “Great Gatsby” era to create Pillars Bar and Grill in the former cinema, which had been a nightclub until it closed after a New Year’s Eve Party in 2016.
Original features, including the arched tin ceiling, have been painstakingly restored and twinned with stunning furniture and fixtures. The £1 million project incorporated features celebrating the history of the building with a big screen installed, a baby grand piano for visiting performers and a ceiling feature created from the nightclub décor. Stunning new art deco doors form the entrance while a garden is accessed through bi-fold doors. See related photo.