Architect |
Horace Bradley |
Date Built |
1925 |
Location |
Spencer Street |
Description |
|
This building on
Spencer Street in Leamington Spa has
been home to a number of businesses
including fitness clubs and at one
point a night club. It started
out as "The Bath Cinema" and that name
once appeared above the central
windows in the area that is now
painted purple. The architect
who designed it was Horace Bradley who
was also responsible for the Bath
Assembly Hall next door.
The cinema opened in March of 1925. At that time the auditorium was decorated with Wedgewood style plaques along the side walls. There was seating in both stalls and circle levels. The Spencer Street façade features three elaborate round-topped windows above the entrance doors. On either side of the windows are stone niches that were probably intended to house sculptures but even in old photographs from the 1930s the niches were empty as they are in 2015. As with many cinemas, the Bath Cinema changed hands and names over the years. In 1938 it became part of the Clifton Cinemas chain and was renamed the Clifton Cinema. In the 1950s it underwent a restructuring to accommodate a CinemaScope screen, but in 1982 it closed for good and was converted into a nightclub called "Lester's". The most recent version of the nightclub in these premises was/is called Neon. |