Fellowship Cinema

The Fellowship and Star was built on steeply sloping ground. Indeed, cinema patrons arriving at its entrance on Randlesdown Road are directed down steps on the left hand side to the cinema entrance at the rear, which is off Knapmill Road. That entrance is branded as Milky Way Bar and Cafe. The 1920s function room that houses the Film Palace has, understandably and inevitably, lost much of its original decor in the transformation into a very comfortable, modern cinema, but there are still nice traces (in particular, columns down each side and the ceiling features) and the original entrance doors have been retained. Another ‘plus’ these days is the presence of tabs, resulting in a very welcoming atmosphere. Also welcome, at least when I visited, on 19th November 2019 to see the early evening screening of romantic comedy “Last Christmas”, was the absence of any adverts or trailers: the film started straight after an excellent short film about the restoration of the inn. The staff made me very welcome, and I wished them good fortune for this wonderful venture.