Plaza Cinema

In the small town of Whitwick, near Coalville in northwest Leicestershire, the Picture House opened in December 1914. A brick building, with electric lighting, it could seat 820 and was not only a cinema, but also a theatre with an orchestra pit, 30ft deep stage, 40ft wide proscenium and two dressing rooms.

It was built by T. Barker and Sons of Loughborough for the Thringstone and Whitwick Picture Company, at a cost of £1,550. The architect was M. McCarthy.

At opening, the manager was William A. Jennings, but just a year later he was succeeded by Richard Kelley.

By 1917 a Mrs Kelly was the manageress; in 1919 she purchased the cinema.

In 1925, the Picture House became the Palace Cinema. The era of silent films ended in August 1930 when “the talkies” arrived, and an AWH sound system was installed.

The cinema’s name changed again in 1951, when it briefly became the Ritz Cinema, It soon became the Plaza Cinema. At some stage the seating capacity was drastically reduced: the Kinematograph Year Book for 1953 lists 480 seats.

The final era began in 1963 with the introduction of bingo on some evenings. In the 1970’s, films ceased altogether and the Plaza Cinema became a full-time bingo club.

The story of Whitwick’s cinema/theatre ended dramatically in 1982 when the building was destroyed by fire. The site was cleared and new houses erected, one of which has the name “Plaza House” which is part of the Old Vicarage Residential Homes.

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