Gaiety Cinema

Kinema Playhouse Limited had been looking for somewhere in the Sidley area, a fairly densely populated suburb to the north of Bexhill from the early-1930’s. They already operated the Playhouse Cinema in Western Road.

After a few years of searching in vein, they had to settle for the nearest suitable place, which was the York Theatre (formerly York Hall), half way up London Road and about half a mile south of Sidley.

The York Hall had been part of the Bexhill entertainment scene since the late-1890’s.

Before it could be adapted for cinena, over 1,000 tonnes of rubble from a nest of demolished cloakrooms and dressing rooms had to be removed, which gave the auditorium an extra 35ft in length.

The Gaiety Cinema came to life on Bank Holiday Monday, August 5, 1935, when a capacity audience of 700 attended the opening programme which was headed by Ronald Colman in “Clive of India”. The full supporting programme consisted of the Gaumont British News, Julian Huxley’s “The Private Lives of Gannets”, and Mickey Mouse in “Mickey’s Man Friday”.

A free car park adjoined the cinema, which was nicknamed “Bexhill’s Drawing Room Cinema” and patrons were urged to enjoy a relaxing drink in the adjacent York Hotel (presently Sussex Hotel). Soft gold brown was the colour scheme adopted throughout and the prices of admission ranged from 6d,1/-,1/3,1/6 and 2/-.

Although the Gaiety Cinema had no circle it had an appreciable range, which according to the Bexhill Observer, “Even the shortest people should have an uninterrupted view of the screen”.

The life of the shortest lived of Bexhill’s seven cinemas came to an abrupt end on Sunday, October 6, 1940, when the Gaiety Cinema was badly damaged when a bomb hit a facade.

Thankfully the cinema wasn’t open and nobody was injured. Although most of the building survived, the Gaiety Cinema had screened its last film. Much of the equipment and seating was taken out and replaced older equipment at the Picturedrome (now Curzon), Eastbourne.

Over the decades, ‘Bexhill’s Drawing Room Cinema’ has had many uses, including a motorcycle showroom and a snooker hall. It currently is home to a second hand car showroom that operates under the name of Central Car Sales.

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