Cabot Cinema

29 Gloucester Road N,
Bristol, BS7 0SH

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Additional Info

Architects: William Henry Watkins

Styles: Art Deco

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Cabot Cinema

The Cabot Cinema was a suburban single-screen cinema, in Filton, just outside Bristol’s city limits, showing second-run films. Located on a corner position at the junction of Braemar Avenue and Gloucester Road North. The Cabot Cinema opened on 7th October 1937 with Matheson Lang in “Drake of England”. Although an independent, it was leased to the Associated British Cinemas(ABC) chain. During World War II, the foyer was used as a recruitment centre for the armed forces and various civilian organisations doing war work (the Red Cross, Civil Defence Force etc.)

The lease was taken back from ABC in 1956, and it remained an independent cinema until closing in July 1961 (with a Rock ‘n Roll concert on the stage). The paybox was moved to the Gaiety Cinema, Knowle.

It became a Fine Fare supermarket from May 1962. After this closed, it lay empty for some time before being demolished to make way for a mixed retail and housing development, named Cabot Court. Perhaps ironically, one of the retail units in the development is a Blockbuster video store.

Contributed by Nick Xylas, Ken Roe

Recent comments (view all 3 comments)

nxylas
nxylas on December 29, 2009 at 10:21 am

According to the IMDb, the film that opened this cinema was actually called “Drake of England” (US title: “Drake the Pirate”), and its star was Matheson Lang, not Long. It was made in 1935, making it already 2 years old when the cinema opened.

CSWalczak
CSWalczak on October 31, 2012 at 9:23 am

An exterior view of the Cabot as it was in 1935 can be seen here.

pepperrn
pepperrn on May 27, 2013 at 8:40 am

How do I update the streetview picture to show the true location of this cinema? The view shown is a couple of miles out! Thank you.

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