The Cinema Museum is a museum in

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between th ...

, London. Its collection was founded in 1986 by Ronald Grant and Martin Humphries, from their own private collection of cinema history and memorabilia. Its current building was once a workhouse where

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

lived as a child.

History

First established in 1986 in Raleigh Hall in

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

, the museum later moved to

; since 1998, it has been based at 2 Dugard Way in the

London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazi ...

, the administration block of the former

Lambeth Workhouse The Lambeth Workhouse was a workhouse in Lambeth, London. The original workhouse opened in 1726 in Princes Road (later, Black Prince Road). From 1871 to 1873, a new building was constructed in Renfrew Road, Lambeth. The building was eventually t ...

, in a building owned by the

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, also known as SLaM, is an NHS foundation trust based in London, England, which specialises in mental health. It comprises four psychiatric hospitals (Bethlem Royal Hospital, Lambeth Hospital and t ...

. The workhouse has a link to cinema history as

lived there as a child when his mother faced destitution. The museum runs a programme of talks and events and is currently open by appointment for tours. Having survived a threat to its existence owing to the proposed sale of the building in 2011, the museum was engaged in efforts to secure its future with public funding. The museum has been the subject of a documentary by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', and a 2008 documentary by the Canadian film artist Mark Lewis.

Collection

The museum's collection includes items relating to film production, film exhibition and the experience of cinema-going from the earliest days of cinema to the present. It holds examples of every gauge of film projector, professional and amateur, ever manufactured. The museum holds a collection of early films by Mitchell and Kenyon, the

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

film production company, dating from 1899 to 1906. These films were featured at the

Pordenone Pordenone (; Venetian language, Venetian and ) is a city and (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the capital of the Province of Pordenone, Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone. The name comes from Lati ...

Cinema Muto (

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

festival) in 1997. According to '' Time Out'', "The Cinema Museum in Lambeth boasts an idiosyncratic collection of film memorabilia, including posters, art deco cinema chairs, ushers' uniforms from the 1940s and '50s, tickets, ashtrays and popcorn cartons, as well as an archive boasting hundreds of books, an estimated one million plus photos and 17 million feet of film." At its events volunteers regularly dress in original cinema attendants' costumes. The museum seeks to celebrate all aspects of cinema and the moving image. From silent films shown in exactly the correct gauge and at the right speed using specially adapted projectors, to screenings of modern television culture. It is developing a growing reputation for its eclectic range of events. The cinema bar was rated the eighth-best pub in Kennington by readers of

Londonist ''Gothamist'' is a New York City–centric blog operated by New York Public Radio. From 2003 to 2018, Gothamist LLC was the operator, or in some cases franchisor, of eight city-centric websites that focused on news, events, food, culture, an ...

in 2013. It is located near

Elephant and Castle Elephant and Castle is an area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station of the same name. The n ...

and

tube stations.

Sale of museum building

In 2017, it was announced that the

which owns the building and leases it to the Museum, had decided to put the building up for sale on the open market. A campaign was launched with support from actors and filmmakers such as

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a retiredhttps://variety.com/2024/film/global/ken-loach-retirement-the-old-oak-jonathan-glazer-oscars-speech-1235956589/ English filmmaker. His socially critical directing style and socialist views ar ...

, and a petition to keep the Museum at the site gained over 52,000 signatures. The developers who had bought the site gave the charity that runs the museum a period of time to buy the building and fundraising continues.

Items from the collection

File:Cinema Museum, London object 133.JPG, Spotlight File:1912 Pathé KOK 28mm Projector.jpg, 1912

Pathé Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...

KOK 28mm projector File:Cinema Museum, London object 103.JPG, Wooden seating availability indicator File:Cinema Museum, London object 125.JPG, Cinema carpet File:Cinema Museum, London object 134.JPG, Popcorn machine File:Cinema Museum, London object 140.JPG, Seating File:Cinema Museum, London object 14.JPG, Bound volumes of '' The Cinema News and Property Gazette'' File:Cinema Museum, London object 18.JPG, Film canisters File:Cinema Museum, London object 23.JPG, Records File:Cinema Museum, London object 45.JPG, Usherette's hat File:Cinema Museum, London object 28.JPG, Entrance doors

References

External links

*
London's unusual museums
in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

''
British Home Movie Day
in ''

''
10 Best Arts venues in South London
in ''The Guardian''
Behind the scenes at the Cinema Museum with Michele Hanson
in ''The Guardian'' {{coord, 51.4923, -0.1053, type:landmark_region:GB-LBH, display=title 1986 establishments in England Brixton Cinema museums in London Kennington Museums established in 1986 Museums in the London Borough of Lambeth Workhouses in London