Corn Exchange Theatre and Cinema

Facing the major town square in the north Norfolk town of King’s Lynn, the Grade II listed Corn Exchange was built in 1854. Behind its elaborate stone façade, the hall was a simple brick rectangle with a glazed roof supported by delicate trusses.

By the mid-1990’s, the building was rather dilapidated, although still used for community events. A project to restore and enlarge it began and, following a £4.4m rebuild, the transformed building re-opened in 1996.

It is operated by Alive West Norfolk, a wholly owned, not for profit Local Authority Controlled Company, operated by the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk.

The main auditorium, seating up to 658, is fully flexible, with tiered seating that can be retracted to leave a flat floor. The old glazed roof was replaced by acoustically sealed zinc panels.

At a cost of £1.6m, a two-screen digital cinema was built in under-used space in the upper foyer and front balcony. Screen 1 has 56 seats, while Screen 2 seats 49. A new staircase and lift lead to the first floor cinema foyer.

The opening of the cinemas was inevitably delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. It had been hoped they would start showing films in May 2020, but this was moved back to Friday 25 September 2020.

The opening day films were Dev Patel in “The Personal History of David Copperfield”, “The Man in the Hat”, starring Ciaran Hinds, and Annette Bening and Bill Nighy in “Hope Gap”.

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