Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History Cinemas

Update: bar one column that leads onto the entrance onto Seaview Rd the building's just now rubble. I have a couple of camera-phone pictures, I'll put them in the UE thread about it.

Here's Pic of the Classic where the old flyover stood. That was the first cinema I was allowed to go to by myself, I went to see Ghostbusters!! Went to watch it a few time then!

think i remember going to that one

spot on pic i rember you could bunk in throug the side door

My father was chief projectionist at ABC in Argyle St for over 20 years if you need any info let me know, he's the man to ask. Also he remembers other cinemas in the area, including Hoylake, tranmere, and New Brighton.

BIG AL ROBBO

The Classic was previously the Empire or the Super (can't remember which). They were both on the same block, almost opposite the Ritz where I was a projectionist in 1955. The ABC was called the Savoy then & was one of the largest in town. Here's an extract from a map from 1954-55 which shows them all.

Cheers, Chris.

If you go into the Shoemarket in Liscard, just next to the desk above a doorway is a lot of information on the Palace and how it looked originally (and the design was a LOT better than the faux Art Deco cack on offer now) but it was a photocopy and I forgot to ask what the book it was from was. Damn.

the one that was next to sherlocks as is now, maybe the fever bar, used to be known as the flea pit because you used to come out of there scratching

Missed the New Brighton one's out chaps and chapesses. The Court a tiny cinema where I watched most of my films. Saw Dr No there and Zulu for the first time. That was the sister cinema to the Royal in Egremont now a snooker hall. Once the Court had shown its films for three days they were then sent to the Royal for another three days.

Also in Victoria road New Brighton was the Trocedero. I went to see the last film ever shown there "Reach for the Sky". That became some kind of cheapo supermarket after closure.

The Winter Gardens in Atherton street near New Brighton station was another I used to go to occasionally. Once they celebrated some sort of anniversary and all the kids were given a goody bag with a donut, sweets and free lolly ice. It was brilliant. Became a bingo hall for a long time and then knocked down. Now sheltered housing.

Used to go to the Saturday morning one at the ABC in Liscard and sang the minors song. "We are the ABC minors, minors of the ABC and every Saturday we line up, to see the films we laugh and shout about with glee".

Well it went something like that

Been to the Phoenix, Gaumont (refuse to call it Unit four or Apollo. It was always the Gaumont to us. There was another one at the bottom end of Liscard road but I can't remember the name of it and never went there myself,

I think the very first picture house in New Brighton if not Wallasey was in Virginia road, maybe the palace itself? Well before my time of course.

Re the ABC/Capitol, someone suggested that it was going to be a mosque? I flipping hope not!

It's just landscaped at the minute, it half-looks like they're going to be a car park, I've not seen much in the way of plans on the council planning website anyway but apparently there's not a single plan for it out there. It's just the facade and the side exit that's been retained, otherwise it's just freshly-tarmacked open air.

The Trocadero became a Co-Op before going.

Here's the Gaumont Palace: http://flickr.com/photos/4737carlin/1224507314/
I remember it as the Apollo 6. I think I saw Terminator 2 there about 3 times lol Saw other films there with my cheapskate b@stard boyfriend of the time. I think he preferred that sh*thole to the new and shiny Odeon in Bromborough. (what was I thinking???)
Anyway. I also found this for people who feel the need to go looking for cinemas of yore:
http://cinematreasures.org/

No Co-Op was on the other side further up. http://www.newbrightonwalrus.org.uk/photos/index.php?display=photocd%2FMiscellaneous%2F185a_%27Trocadero%27.jpg

memory fails me know, but what was the name of the massive cinema at Hoylake , down a side road from the main drag, leading off to the beach. I can just about remember it from going there as a kid...

Phill

I guess you mean the "Winter Gardens" in Alderley Road.

There was also the Kingsway on Market Street and there was a "Classic" at one time.

I keep remembering bits of when I went into the Shoemarket, I remember hearing that a lot of the old tilework and fittings still exist in the store room, including the original curve of the roof. They seemed quite friendly in there so maybe it's worth asking one day if they'd mind some photos being taken? Maybe for a comparison of now and then, I really want to know what book the information that was above that door next to the till was from too, I may have to head up to the library some day and go through the reference books there, I couldn't read it (I'm short) but it looked interesting.