 The Paignton Picture House in January 2022 | |
  Paignton Picture House Shown within Devon | |
| Coordinates | 50°26′6.720″N3°33′51.696″W / 50.43520000°N 3.56436000°W |
|---|---|
| Opened | 16 March 1914 |
| Closed | 26 September 1999 |
| Website | |
| paigntonpicturehouse | |
The Paignton Picture House is a currently disused cinema in Paignton, England, situated on Torbay Road.
The Picture House was designed by the Paignton-based practice Hyams and Hobgen. [1] It was opened on 16 March 1914. [2] In its early days it featured a 21-piece orchestra, with each member paid a guinea to perform. There are 375 seats: 271 in the stalls, 104 in the circle, plus three private boxes at the back seating an additional eight.
The cinema closed down on 26 September 1999 following the opening of a multiplex cinema at the other end of the same road. It was bought by the Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway, which is adjacent, who had plans to turn it into a passenger waiting area. However, due to the building's Grade II listed building status, it is difficult to make any extensive changes and those plans were shelved.
More recently, there has been talk of returning the Paignton Picture House to its former glory, as a living film museum featuring films from the very first days of silent cinema through to the 1950s. The experience would be further enhanced by staff wearing period costume. However, discussions with the railway company have some way to go before the future of this historic building is known.
The cinema was bought from the Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway by The Paignton Picture House Trust with a grant of £40,000 from Historic England and funding from Torbay Council. A further £49,000 was obtained from the Coastal Revival Fund to make the building safe and open the building for tours. [3]
The Paignton Picture House Trust has been awarded a grant by Historic England of £206,680 towards the restoration, covering the full cost of essential repairs to the intricate stone work and unique stained glass windows. [4] In December 2021, the first stage of the restoration project was completed, with the exterior of the building cleaned and repaired. [5]
In March 2022 Torbay Council and partners received nearly £3m from the Cultural Development Fund [6] (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) to continue restoration for an opening in 2025. A planning application was due to be submitted summer 2022 and work starting in 2023. [7] The Cultural Development Funding included over £2.4m for capital works at the historic cinema, and followed an earlier Torbay Council commitment of £1.25m from its £13.36m Future High Streets Fund [8] for Paignton, allocated by the then government's Department for Levelling Up.
In 2024, due to spiralling costs and a budget shortfall, the Paignton Picture House Trust requested further funding from Torbay Council [9] , which was agreed by councillors at the Cabinet meeting on 26 November 2024. Restoration work began in early 2025. [10]
Torquay is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies 18 miles (29 km) south of the county town of Exeter and 28 miles (45 km) east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay and across from the fishing port of Brixham. In 2021 the built-up area of Torquay had a population of 52,037.
Torbay is a unitary authority with a borough status in the ceremonial county of Devon, England. It is governed by Torbay Council, based in the town of Torquay, and also includes the towns of Paignton and Brixham. The borough consists of 24.27 sq mi (62.9 km2) of land around the east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme Bay on the English Channel. A popular tourist destination, Torbay's sandy beaches, mild climate and recreational and leisure attractions have given rise to its nickname of the English Riviera. The neighbouring districts are South Hams and Teignbridge.
Paignton is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1968. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignton has origins as a Celtic settlement and was first mentioned in 1086. It grew as a small fishing village and a new harbour was built in 1847. A railway line was opened to passengers in 1859 creating links to Torquay and London. As its population increased, it merged with the villages of Goodrington and Preston. Paignton is around 25 miles (40 km) north east of Plymouth and 20 miles (32 km) south of Exeter.
Oldway Mansion is a large house and gardens in Paignton, Devon, England. It was built as a private residence for Isaac Singer (1811–1875), and rebuilt by his son Paris Singer, in the style of the Palace of Versailles.
The Capitol is a theatre on Swanston Street in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Opened in 1924 as part of the Capitol House building, the theatre was designed by American husband and wife architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. It is the oldest of Melbourne's large picture palaces and is known for its extravagant decor and abstract motifs, including an intricate geometric ceiling containing thousands of coloured lights designed to evoke the walls of a crystalline cave.
Torre railway station is a stop on the Riviera Line in Torquay, Devon, England. It is 219 miles 12 chains (353 km) down the line from London Paddington, via Box. The station is managed by Great Western Railway but is not staffed. The station buildings are Grade II listed.
Churston railway station is on the Dartmouth Steam Railway, a heritage railway in Torbay, Devon, England. It is situated beside the main road to Brixham and close to the villages of Churston Ferrers and Galmpton. There has been no scheduled service at the station since 2020.
Paignton Zoo is a zoo in Paignton, Devon, England. The zoo was started as a private collection by avid animal collector and breeder, Herbert Whitley, in the grounds of his home Primley House. It was opened to the public on a number of occasions, originally as Primley Zoological Gardens, and closed twice due to disputes with the tax authorities. The commercialisation of the zoo came when animals and attractions were relocated from Chessington Zoo during World War II, and the site was named as Devon's Zoo and Circus
Tameside Hippodrome is a 1262 seat theatre located in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England.
Paignton Academy is a secondary school with academy status, located in South Devon, England. The majority of pupils come from the Paignton area.
Galmpton is a semi-rural village in Torbay, in the ceremonial county of Devon, England. It is located in the ward of Churston-with-Galmpton and the historic civil parish of Churston Ferrers, though some areas historically considered parts of Galmpton, such as Greenway and Galmpton Creek, are situated in the Devon borough of South Hams.
The Plaza is a Grade II* listed art deco single-screen cinema and theatre in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It opened in 1932, its construction having involved the excavation of the sandstone cliff behind it. After an initial closure in 1966 and a subsequent period in use as a bingo hall by Rank Leiure, it has now been restored as a cinema and theatre, showing films and staging live shows.
The Savoy Theatre, Church Street, Monmouth is a theatre and cinema, reputedly the oldest working theatre site in Wales. It has a capacity for 360 people and is run by a charitable trust. One of 24 buildings on the Monmouth Heritage Trail, the theatre is a Grade II* listed building.
The Pavilion Theatre was a theatre in Torquay, Devon, England. It was one of the three main auditoriums in Torbay, and during the 1970s differed from the Princess Theatre, Torquay, and the Festival Theatre, Paignton, in that it had plays rather than variety shows during the lucrative summer seasons.
Splashdown Quaywest is the largest outdoor waterpark in the UK. It is located on Goodrington Sands Beach near to Paignton, Devon.
Torbay and Southern Devon Health and Care NHS Trust was a NHS trust that provided health and care in and around Torbay, Devon, England. It was a pioneer within the NHS in England in demonstrating the advantages of integrating health and social care into one organisation. And "one of three areas that have been working to learn from Kaiser Permanente, a leading United States health maintenance organisation." It was established as Torbay Care Trust in October 2005, with responsibility for social care in a partnership agreement with Torbay Borough Council. From then until April 2012, the trust had responsibility for both commissioning (buying) and providing integrated health and social care services to people in the Torbay area. As part of the changes associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2012 the commissioning function was detached from the trust.
Torbay Council is the local authority for Torbay, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Devon, England. Since 1998 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council; it is independent from Devon County Council.
Edginswell railway station is a proposed station in the Edginswell area of Torquay, Devon. The station would be located on the Riviera Line between Newton Abbot and Torre stations. Services to and from the station will link towards Paignton, Newton Abbot, Exeter and Exmouth. Edginswell will be the location of employment and housing development and the new station will support this development. The station would also serve Torbay Hospital, the Willows retail park and the Torquay Gateway development area.
The 2019 Torbay Council election took place on 2 May 2019 to elect members of Torbay Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections. The Conservatives lost the council to no overall control.
The Old Town Hall is a former municipal building in New Street in Paignton, a town in Devon, in England. It served as the offices of Paignton Urban District Council until 1946, but was later converted for residential use.
