King's Norton Cinema
Kings Norton Green,
Birmingham,
B38
Kings Norton Green,
Birmingham,
B38
2 people
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Clifton Circuit
Architects: Harold Seymour Scott
Styles: Streamline Moderne
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Located in the King’s Norton district in the south of Birmingham. The King’s Norton Cinema opened on 16th September 1938. It was an imposing red-brick building with the wide marble steps leading to the entrance and built (oddly) at one end of an English village green. Unusually, seating and carpeting in both the stalls and the small circle were of a light green colour. Along with wall lighting, the cinema was lit by a series of decorative grills in the ceiling which stretched the width of the cinema. The cinema had a large orchestra pit at the base of a very imposing oblong proscenium arch, complemented by what seemed huge traveller curtains.
This was my haunt as a kid and a picture of it would bring back a lot of memories. It was owned by the King’s Norton Picture House Company Ltd.
The King’s Norton Cinema was closed on 15th June 1983 with Dustin Hoffman in “Tootsie”. It was boarded up and left derelict for a few years, and later demolished for a housing development to be built on the site.
Contributed by
Chris Perman
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
Re the Kings Norton Cinema – there is a half page photo in our book “B'ham at Play” (Page 108) You can contact me via our site www.altondouglas.co.uk My email is
Many happy days spent at the kings norton cinema.Even when it closed as a cinema we used to go and play bingo there.
Derek DeMaine (Actor)
The King’s Norton Cinema opened in September 1938. The architect was Harold Seymour Scott and it seated 1,142. It closed in June 1983 and sheltered flats for the elderly have been built on the site.
There is a photo of the exterior taken in 1967 in the book ‘Birmingham Cinemas’ by Christine Wilkinson and Margaret Hanson published in 2003 by Tempus Publishing Ltd ISBN 0 7524 3080 7
Ken, many thanks for your information re: the King’s Norton.
I have a photo of the Kings Norton Cinema. If anyone would like a copy, I will email it to them…
Site of Kings Norton Cinema
Hmmm Correction Time. The Theatre was owned by Bertie Bull 90%. Sidney Clift held only 10% of Shares and booked the Hall The (original) Picture House Stratford Upon Avon was only associated for a very short time with Clifton Curcuit Management for film booking Clift on having a small percentage
The Company that owned it from its building till it was sold for demolition was “Kings Norton Picturehouse Co., Ltd.,” Not Clifton….
It had a 36' Screen… Westrex Sound and Projection..
This opened on April 16th, 1938. Grand opening ad posted.