Woolton Picture House (also known as Woolton Cinema) is a privately owned
cinema
Cinema may refer to:
Film
* Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography
* Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image
** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking
...
in the
Woolton
Woolton (; ) is an affluent suburb of Liverpool, England. It is located southeast of the city and is bordered by Allerton, Gateacre, Halewood, and Hunt's Cross. At the 2011 Census, the population was 12,921.
Overview
Originally a standalone ...
area of
Liverpool, England
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
.
It is the only remaining single-screen cinema in the city, and is popular with cinema enthusiasts because of its old-fashioned atmosphere. The music of
Mantovani
Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (; 15 November 1905 – 29 March 1980) was an Anglo-Italian conductor, composer and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature.
The book ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' sta ...
plays before the main programme and in the traditional halfway interval, during which ice cream can be bought from usherettes.
It was purchased in 1992 by David Wood, the grandson of Liverpool cinema pioneer John Frederick Wood. Wood died on 12 June 2006 leading to the cinema's closure on 3 September. ''
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' was the last film to be shown. In 2007, a group of
entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...
purchased the cinema and re-opened it on 29 March 2007 with a screening of ''
The Queen
In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to:
* Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death
The Queen may also refer to:
* Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...
''.
The 2020 coronavirus pandemic led to the closure of the establishment, but a crowd-funding effort on Go Fund Me has raised £20,000, and the owners have suspended redundancies whilst they evaluate the availability of grants from the BFI and other sources.
Timeline
1926 - The Woolton Picture House was designed by L.A.G Prichard, a well established architect, and was built for Alfred Adams who formed the Woolton Picture House Co. Ltd. to operate the cinema.
1930 -
The auditorium originally held a seating capacity of over 800, composing of several rows of wooden benches. Although during the 1930s the screen was brought forward to accommodate larger speakers for an enhanced cinematic experience.
1938 - 45 -
Remaining open throughout the war years, surviving the bombing raids of WW2, the cinema provided the local community a vital window to the front line, courtesy of
Pathé newsreel
A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, inform ...
.
1954 -
The cinema acquired a new owner and was handed to Robert Godfrey of Cheshire Country Cinemas.
1958 -
The onset of a fire at the front of the screen drastically altered the cinema, almost destroying the public area of the Auditorium. The building survived but remained closed for 3 months during extensive repairs.
1992 -
Woolton Picture House was re-owned by David Wood, grandson of the cinema pioneer John. F. Wood.
2006 -
The sudden misfortune of the unexpected death of David Swindell the chief projectionist, followed shortly after by the death of the owner David Wood, lead to the second closure of the cinema.
2007 -
Woolton Picture House was purchased by a local business man and reopened, with a full house.
2009 -
Woolton Picture House become the set for the film ''
Nowhere Boy
''Nowhere Boy'' is a 2009 British biographical drama film, directed by Sam Taylor-Wood in her directorial debut. Written by Matt Greenhalgh, it is based on Julia Baird's biography of her half-brother, the musician John Lennon. ''Nowhere Boy'' i ...
'', a biopic of John Lennon's adolescence and the creation of his first band
The Quarrymen
The Quarrymen (also written as "the Quarry Men") are a British skiffle/ rock and roll group, formed by John Lennon in Liverpool in 1956, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Originally consisting of Lennon and several schoolfriends, the Q ...
and its evolution into the Beatles.
2010 -
The cinema celebrated the film Premier of the Blockbuster movie ''
Madrasapattinam
''Madrasapattinam'' () is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language historical romantic drama film written and directed by A. L. Vijay. The film stars Arya and Amy Jackson, in her feature film debut, while Nassar, Cochin Hanifa, Lisa Lazarus, and Ale ...
'' with film stars hosting the cinema's red carpet event.
2020 -
Due to unforeseen financial hardships that the COVID-19 pandemic brought, Woolton Picture House closed.
2022 -
Press reports suggest Woolton Picture House may reopen.
References
External links
Woolton Picture House Official Website
Buildings and structures in Liverpool
Cinemas in Merseyside
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