Broadway Cinema
167 Broadway,
Bexleyheath,
DA6 7ES
167 Broadway,
Bexleyheath,
DA6 7ES
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Additional Info
Architects: A. Hargreaves
Functions: Restaurant
Previous Names: Cinema
Nearby Theaters
Located in Bexleyheath, which today has been incorporated into the Greater London area. The Cinema opened in 1913, and was operated by Bexleyheath Cinemas Ltd. Seating was provided for 550 on a single floor and the proscnium was 22 feet wide and there was a 14 feet deep stage.
It was re-named Broadway Cinema in around 1919 and in around 1930, it was enlarged to a seating capacity of 713 and was equipped to screen sound films. The Broadway Cinema was never equipped to screen CinemaScope films and it was closed on 28th July 1956 with Kenneth Moore in "Genevieve" and Dirk Bogarde in "Doctor in the House".
The building was converted into a Tesco supermarket, and was last operated by Kwik Save. By October 1998, it had been converted into a pub, known as the Rat and Parrot. The false ceiling which had been erected by the supermarket was removed to reveal the original barrel vaulted cinema ceiling. By 2003, there had been 3 shootings in the pub and there were calls for it to be closed down. In the summer of 2006, over 500 football fans rioted in the building during a live screening of a World Cup football match, and the polce had to close the pub down. It has since re-opened under new management as the Ivory Lounge. This has since closed and by September 2019 the auditorium has been demolished? or remodeled? to become a Cantonese restaurant named Real China. In the late spring of 2021 it re-opened as the Elegance Lounge.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
Photographed in June 2006 as the Rat & Parrot pub:
http://flickr.com/photos/davepatten/160292515/
A plan of the cinema prepared by A Hargreaves is held at the Kent MOMI Museum, Deal
Since the comments above the cinema has traded as Real China, a buffet service, but in October 2019, I found that only the front wall on the street survives. The register of listed buildings in the library does not include this address, but perhaps the streetscape will be preserved if nothing else.
This venue has re-opened in 2021 as the Elegance Lounge, an upmarket dining club with five VIP booths pre bookable as seen on their website. Open 3 evenings from Thursday to Saturday.