Victoria Cinema

Mike_Blakemore on May 15, 2012 at 11:22 am

Thanks both… Its good that we are working to get correct information for future generations

Ian on May 15, 2012 at 9:41 am

I think that may be my mistake. http://www.newmarketlhs.org.uk/nlhscorrespondence7.htm states :_ “Newmarket has been home to a number of cinemas over the years. The Doric, now Millionaires bar and nightclub, in High Street, ran between March 1937 and July 1964. Innocence, the nightclub across the road, was once the Kingsway Cinema, while Boots, the former Carlton Hotel, was the Victoria Cinema. There was also once a cinema in Black Bear Lane. Newmarket has a cinematograph history and you can read about one of the earliest public performances on our website, under ‘Local Fire Tragedies’ this occurred in what is now Ann Furbank’s fashion shop on Rutland Hill (then the Town Hall) and resulted in serious loss of life and many injuries. Yes, the Kingsway and the Doric flourished betwen the nineteen twenties and the fifties, the golden age of cinema popularity. The Doric opened in 1937 and the first film shown was Will Hay in ‘Good Morning Boys’. Particularly during WW II it was usual to see long queues along the High Street for the evening and Saturday afternoon performances. With the advent of television, cinemas slowly declined. As the Journal article points out both the buildings now serve as Night Clubs.”

Confusingly the address of the Kingsway Cinema was listed as being Kingsway, leading me to identify this photo as the Victoria. I’ll amend the flickr caption. All three cinemas seem to have been on the High Street.