Roxy Cinema

311 Holdenhurst Road,
Bournemouth, BH8 8BT

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Additional Info

Functions: Photography Studio

Styles: Art Deco

Previous Names: Coronation Picture Palace

Nearby Theaters

Roxy Cinema

The Coronation Picture Palace opened on 27th June 1911. This was a very small cinema that I only visited one time. It had stalls and a small balcony. In 1928 it was equipped with a small 2 manual straight organ manufactured by Bedwell & Son. It was removed after 6 months due to vermin damage.

It was re-named Roxy Cinema in 1936 when it was operated by Harry P.E. Mears from 1940. It was closed by German bomb damage on 24th April 1944, and remained closed until 9th March 1950 when it reopened with Fred Astaire & Bing Crosby in “Blue Skies” & Charlie Ruggles in “Night Work”. Situated at the end of Holdenhurst Road near Boscombe there was little opportunity for passing trade. It was in Bournemouth cinema terms a bit of an oddity. The sightlines were good and despite the single visit I recall it as a lovely example of a small cinema. Sadly, I am unable to trace any pictures of the cinemas of my childhood in this wonderful town. The Roxy Cinema was closed on 25th August 1963 with Hardy Kruger in “Blind Date”.

In 1963 it was converted into a bingo club which closed in 1994. The building has become a photography studio.

Contributed by deric botham

Recent comments (view all 3 comments)

abcman
abcman on February 12, 2010 at 11:12 am

As far as I am aware the cinema is now used as a Photographic Studio.

primolux
primolux on April 11, 2012 at 6:01 am

The Coronation Picture Palace opened on June 27th 1911 in the Bournemouth suburb of Springbourne and actually had a very big catchement area as it was surrounded by residential properties not least, the upmarket area of Queens Park. The name was changed to Roxy in 1936 and it was not taken over by Harry Mears until 1940. In 1944 it was being operated by West’s Pictures whose town centre cinema had been destroyed by enemy action.Unfortunately the Roxy took a hit on the 24th April of that year and remained derelict until 1950 when wartime building restrictions were lifted.It reopened on March 9th. 1950 with the Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby film ‘Blue Skys’ plus Charlie Ruggles in ‘Night Work’. One custom which carried on down the years allowed pensioners to see a show at certain times on presentation of their pension book. The cinema lasted until 25th August 1963 when the final programme consisted of ‘Blind Date’, the Joseph Losey thriller starring Stanley Baker and Hardy Kruger. Changing to bingo gave the building a new lease of life until 1994.During this time the interior was surprisingly unaltered the balcony retaining its cinema seats and the projection ports very much in evidence.The Westar projectors, installed in 1950,had been removed to the Continental cinema in nearby Winton. Unfortunate alterations to both the interior and exterior of the building took place during its conversion into a photographic laboratory, this included a large access doorway with roller shutters at the screen end of the building.

Biffaskin
Biffaskin on September 16, 2022 at 2:20 am

The straight organ was installed in 1928, manufactured new by Bedwell & Son. It had a 2 manual keyboard with 7 stops. It was removed after just 6 months due to vermin damage and later installed into the Masonic Hall, Poole in 1930.

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