Another on my list of 'locations I never thought I would find myself standing in again' was, and always has been, this cinema. Back in January 2010 I met for the first time someone who would become one of my best explore buddies to go and have a look at an old cinema which at that time was a bit of a piss easy explore and had a lot of visitors. However a fire in mid-2010 (which we initially all thought was set in the lobby until today when we realised it was actually a cluster of seats in the main screen which got set alight) saw the place comprehensively sealed with steel sheeting, and a PIR placed inside the lobby to add an extra bit of deterrent to people wanting to go inside.

Rewind to earlier this week and I get a series of slightly frantic messages off the same friend who exclaimed quite proudly that it was doable again. Also that I should get down there quick as it could be sealed up at any time, the last time there was a viable access point it was sealed up within 24 hours better than it had been before. So we cobbled together a quick, slightly ludicrous plan which involved getting up at something silly o'clock in the morning before the adjacent Sainsbury's supermarket opened, and also involved attaching a banner to the top opposing the imminent demolition of the place in order to create a larger superstore.

At way too early o'clock we made the short trip from his house and were instantly confronted with problem #1 - we hadn't factored in the early morning deliveries of goods to the Sainsbury's, of which the delivery entrance looks out directly to the fence surrounding the cinema. Seeing a truck unloading we buggered off to the 24hr McDonald's for a bit, and after being cornered by a very loud but friendly homeless person drinking cheap red wine inside the Maccy D's for half an hour we headed back...only to be confronted by not one but two trucks now in the bays! After more aimless wandering in the dim hours of the early morning, we finally saw the last truck leave and after nearly 2 hours of buggering about we made our run for it and got over the fence unseen, just. Problem #2 was navigating the jungle of undergrowth on the other side of the fence, which involved a fair amount of crawling and swearing but was manageable. As we made our entrance into the cinema proper, I personally couldn't believe I was stood inside it after over five and a half years of waiting for it to open up again.

We did the smaller two screens and double projection room no problem, but then we were presented with problem #3 - getting to the big main screen involved having to go through the foyer, and neither of us knew where the alarm was or if it was even still active. My friend had already set it off once before when it was last accessible for a day, and beat a hasty retreat. After a lot of debating how to approach it and either through dumb luck or good fortune we didn't set it off, so we managed to get all three screens shot unhindered. Unfortunately as we had no idea where the alarm was situated we didn't want to test our good fortune too much so didn't shoot anything in the base of the lobby lest we accidentally wandered into it.

And to top it off, we got the banner onto the roof, in broad daylight - turns out wearing a hi-vis vest emblazoned with the town council logo on the back really does make you invisible! As the place has been sealed for so long I really didn't notice much more damage than there was in January 2010 which was nice.

The original art deco stage screen is still almost totally intact behind the split triple screens and seriously impressive. Cinemas and theatres aren't really my 'thing' (especially with a half broken torch!) but like with the now demolished hospital at Upper Heyford air base and the asylum I did at the weekend, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to re-shoot one of my first ever explores.

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Finally...who put that there?? :p



Thanks for looking

Posted by mookster At way too early o'clock

Good way to put it, ha ha. Sounds like most of my days, much to the chagrin of exploring partners. Fabulous set - it makes me long for the days when the curtain opened to signal the start of the movie and we all stood for the national anthem. Here in Canada, I still remember the anthem movie always freezing at the end on the face of a kid white water rafting. Back in the days before cinemas buried themselves in bigger, louder, AVX-er and to increase prices to exorbitant amounts to cover falling patronage.

But then again, they're still open and this place is not.

The banner was great!

Posted by Ground State Good way to put it, ha ha. Sounds like most of my days, much to the chagrin of exploring partners. Fabulous set - it makes me long for the days when the curtain opened to signal the start of the movie and we all stood for the national anthem. Here in Canada, I still remember the anthem movie always freezing at the end on the face of a kid white water rafting. Back in the days before cinemas buried themselves in bigger, louder, AVX-er and to increase prices to exorbitant amounts to cover falling patronage. But then again, they're still open and this place is not. The banner was great!

The National Anthem in cinemas is an alien concept to me! All we have always had is reel after reel of adverts...

It wasn't the end, really, as when it closed in 1999 a new cinema complex with restaurants and other crap was built nearby. Nothing like the character of the original though - one of the earliest examples of an Oscar Deutsch designed art deco theatre in the country.

Cool place! Looks like it was worth getting up at "way to early o'clock" for. I love that by the way, totally going to use it.