Regal Cinema
Bellingham Lane,
Rayleigh,
SS6 7ED
Bellingham Lane,
Rayleigh,
SS6 7ED
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In Rayleigh, Essex, the Regal Cinema was erected in early 1937 on the site of the demolished Rayleigh Cinema/Cosy Cinema (see separate Cinema Treasures entry).
The Regal Cinema opened on 29th April 1937. The auditorium was on a single level, 138ft deep, and 63ft wide. The proscenium was 39ft wide.
It was originally owned by the Bostock circuit. By 1945 it had become part of B. E. Fortesque’s Radion circuit, while in the early-1950’s it was part of the Bentley circuit.
It later passed to Mrs R. F. Webster and was finally purchased by Astoria Films (London) Ltd. CinemaScope was installed in November 1955.
Upon leaving school at the age of 15 in 1945, Ron Stewart started work as a trainee projectionist. This was the beginning of a long and successful career at the Regal Cinema, which culminated in October 1968, when he was appointed manager.
In March 1970 the Regal Cinema applied for a bingo licence. However, fears for the future of film entertainment proved unfounded, as bingo never arrived.
In July 1971 the Kalee 8 projectors with BTH arc housings, which had been installed when the cinema opened, were replaced by Kalee 21’s. (The Kalee 8’s were still mechanically sound, but spare parts were becoming harder to obtain.)
In September 1973 closure was announced. There was a proposal for shops, offices and a new cinema, to seat 300, to be built on the site.
The Regal Cinema closed on 29th September 1973 with “Dirty Harry” starring Clint Eastwood, and Jane Fonda in “Klute”.
The building was promptly demolished. Despite petitions from local residents, a new cinema was never built. Offices were built on the car park area, and a block of one-bedroom flats, called ‘Homeregal House’, were erected on the site of the former cinema.
Contributed by
David Simpson
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
i used to go here on a saturday morning with my mates we was about 12 yrs of age [early seventies] . we bunked in once threw the side fire escape door and ron caught us we were so scared he just laugh an let us stay in and watch the morning film free of charge. lovely man bless him he made a very good memory that has stayed with me for 44yrs so far [2016]
I used to go to the Regal Cinema in 1972 to Sat morn show when I was 8. My friends used to knock for me and we would walk through Rayleigh Mount to get there. It was 5p front seat and 7/½ p for back seat.