Essoldo Bradford
Manningham Lane,
Bradford,
BD1
Manningham Lane,
Bradford,
BD1
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Associated British Cinemas Ltd., Essoldo Circuit (Contol) Ltd., J.F. Emery Circuit
Architects: H.W. Rogerson
Styles: French Renaissance, Neo-Classical
Previous Names: Regent Theatre
Nearby Theaters
Located on Manningham Lane at North Parade in the north or Bradford City Centre. The Regent Theatre was a purpose built cinema which opened on 30th September 1914 with ‘A Grand Patriotic Concert’, and on 1st October 1914 with the film "Lilly of the Valley". It was an imposing building faced in white tiles and had columns, a central pediment and was topped by a decorative dome. The cinema had a stage and two dressing rooms, and a cafe for the convenience of its patrons was located in the Winter Gardens section of the building.
In 1925, it operated for six months with stage shows only. Taken over by Associated British Cinemas(ABC) in 1926, they operated the Regent Theatre until 3rd December 1938, when it was taken over by the J.F. Emery Circuit.
Taken over by the Newcastle based Essoldo chain in July 1947, it was re-named Essoldo in December 1949. The Essoldo closed on 30th October 1965 with Guy Madison in "Duel at Rio Bravo" and Gordon Mitchell in "Monster From an Unknown World".
It became a Lucky Seven Bingo Club, but this was not too successful, and in 1968 it re-opened as an Asian cinema, screening ‘Bollywood’ films. This was closed in March 1975, when the building was damaged by fire. It was later demolished.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
The photo above was taken after the construction of a cinemascope screen with festoon curtains in front of the original proscenium: a common solution to the wide screen problem.