Ritz Cinema
College Street and Alfred Street,
Rushden,
NN10 0NW
College Street and Alfred Street,
Rushden,
NN10 0NW
1 person
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Additional Info
Architects: Paul J. Panton
Firms: Talbot, Brown & Fisher
Styles: Art Deco
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Located in the Northamptonshire town of Rushden, the Ritz Cinema was built at the rear of the 1910-built Palace Cinema and was operated by the owners of the Palace Cinema. The Ritz Cinema was opened on 21st November 1936 with Sylvia Sydney in “Trail of the Lonesome Pine”. Designed by architect Paul J. Panton of the Wellingborough based architectural firm Talbot, Brown & Fisher. The exterior is in brick with stone dressings. Seating was provided for 721 in the stalls and 470 in the circle. The proscenium was 40 feet wide, and the cinema was equipped with a particularly large 35 feet deep stage, which was used on occasions by amateur dramatic & opera companies and in the 1960’s by various pop groups. In October 1973 plans were approved to demolish the cinema and build a supermarket on the site, but these plans were later dropped.
It was closed and converted into a bingo club in September 1982, but films continued to be screened during school holiday afternoons into the mid-1980’s. Operating as a full time Flutters Bingo Club since September 1982, it was closed on 19th December 2022.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
Very nice theater/cinema/bingo hall this is,see my video http://youtu.be/mXaH7jl0TJQ?list=LLPdD4ACIzpGdlU8YR9LqZSQ I had the vision of re-working this as a 35mm cinema,but in this day and age it would be a risky venture.Anyway the bingo use is keeping the building valid and operational,and it’s always nice to see this 1936 structure.