King's Hall Cinema

In Gillingham, Kent, a former mineral water plant was acquired by concert promoter Solly Goodman to present variety and Bioscope entertainment. The Victoria Hall opened on 19th January 1910 with “the most wonderful pictures ever seen”, including “Nero and the Burning of Rome”. Cine-variety was presented twice nightly, with sacred concerts being held on Sundays.

In 1911 the Victoria Hall was upgraded, re-opening as the Gem Cinema on 13th November that year, having been redecorated by D. Gilardoni in white enamel with red wallpaper on the upper halves of the walls. Fake marble statues, ferns and a raked floor completed the transformation.

Bertram Garrett, then only aged 25, took over in 1928, and installed a Panotrope (that played records especially loud) to accompany the silent films.

The Gem Cinema was soon renamed the King’s Hall Cinema, presumably when sound was installed. (It is listed under this name in the 1931 Kinematograph Year Book.) However, it was closed by a serious fire on 17th June 1935.

The cinema was never rebuilt. The building housed a garage, then a timber store. It appears to have been demolished; judging by the address, housing is possibly on the site.

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