The Cottage Road Cinema
Encyclopedia
The Cottage Road Cinema is the oldest cinema in Leeds
, West Yorkshire
, England
. It is one of the oldest cinemas in the United Kingdom, in that it has been continuously showing films since 1912.
The Cottage Road Cinema was originally known as The Headingley Picture House, and was not purpose built, but was an adaptation of a building dating back to 1835, when it began life as stabling for Castle Grove, a Victorian mansion built for a wealthy Leeds silk merchant, in Far Headingley
.
During the 1900's Owen Brooks took over the old stabling from the then owner, Mr. H.R.Kirk, for use as a motor garage and motorcycle assembly shop. Besides his interest in these vehicles, Owen Brooks was also a pioneering film cameraman, having made short news films for showing at the Tivoli Theatre in Leeds. In 1912 Owen Brooks was joined in partnership with Reginald Smith and the pair converted the building into the Headingley Picture House, which ran successfully until Smith's death in 1922.
Frank T Thompson (of Golden Acre Park
fame) bought the Headingley Picture House in 1937, but after only a year sold out to Associated Tower Cinemas, who added a balcony and changed the name to Cottage Road Cinema.
The company spent a further £20,000 in modernizing the premises in 1972, when a decision was made to continue its use as a cinema. Since that time, both the Lounge and Cottage Road Cinemas continued to operate successfully until 2005.
The Lounge cinema closed in January 2005 and the Cottage Road almost suffered the same fate. It was due to close at the end of July 2005 and in fact the staff had been issued with redundancy notices. In a last minute deal the cinema was taken over by Mr Charles Morris and the cinema became part of the Northern Morris group.
Since becoming part of the Northern Morris Group the cinema has introduced a special classic film night every 6 weeks. "Classics at the Cottage" has almost become a tradition where patrons can watch the classics in the fitting environment. Recent classic films have included: Cabaret
, Casablanca
, Some Like It Hot
, The Godfather
and Top Hat
.
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is one of the oldest cinemas in the United Kingdom, in that it has been continuously showing films since 1912.
History
The Cottage Road Cinema is arguably one of the oldest cinemas in the country, in that it has been open and continuously showing films since 1912. It was the last surviving cinema of the once extensive Associated Tower Cinemas Group, and so give Headingley the unique claim to be the only area within Leeds to still offer independently owned screens.The Cottage Road Cinema was originally known as The Headingley Picture House, and was not purpose built, but was an adaptation of a building dating back to 1835, when it began life as stabling for Castle Grove, a Victorian mansion built for a wealthy Leeds silk merchant, in Far Headingley
Far Headingley
Far Headingley is an area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England approximately 3 miles north of the city centre. The parish of Far Headingley was created in 1868....
.
During the 1900's Owen Brooks took over the old stabling from the then owner, Mr. H.R.Kirk, for use as a motor garage and motorcycle assembly shop. Besides his interest in these vehicles, Owen Brooks was also a pioneering film cameraman, having made short news films for showing at the Tivoli Theatre in Leeds. In 1912 Owen Brooks was joined in partnership with Reginald Smith and the pair converted the building into the Headingley Picture House, which ran successfully until Smith's death in 1922.
Frank T Thompson (of Golden Acre Park
Golden Acre Park
Golden Acre Park is a public park between Adel and Bramhope, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England , administered by Leeds City Council. It is on the A660 Otley Road and covers an area of ....
fame) bought the Headingley Picture House in 1937, but after only a year sold out to Associated Tower Cinemas, who added a balcony and changed the name to Cottage Road Cinema.
The company spent a further £20,000 in modernizing the premises in 1972, when a decision was made to continue its use as a cinema. Since that time, both the Lounge and Cottage Road Cinemas continued to operate successfully until 2005.
The Lounge cinema closed in January 2005 and the Cottage Road almost suffered the same fate. It was due to close at the end of July 2005 and in fact the staff had been issued with redundancy notices. In a last minute deal the cinema was taken over by Mr Charles Morris and the cinema became part of the Northern Morris group.
Since becoming part of the Northern Morris Group the cinema has introduced a special classic film night every 6 weeks. "Classics at the Cottage" has almost become a tradition where patrons can watch the classics in the fitting environment. Recent classic films have included: Cabaret
Cabaret (film)
Cabaret is a 1972 musical film directed by Bob Fosse and starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey. The film is set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic in 1931, under the ominous presence of the growing National Socialist Party....
, Casablanca
Casablanca (film)
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
, Some Like It Hot
Some Like It Hot
Some Like It Hot is an American comedy film, made in 1958 and released in 1959, which was directed by Billy Wilder and starred Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and George Raft. The supporting cast includes Joe E. Brown, Pat O'Brien and Nehemiah Persoff. The film is a remake by Wilder and I....
, The Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
and Top Hat
Top Hat
Top Hat is a 1935 screwball comedy musical film in which Fred Astaire plays an American dancer named Jerry Travers, who comes to London to star in a show produced by Horace Hardwick . He meets and attempts to impress Dale Tremont to win her affection...
.