REWIND: The Grand Cinema, Church Street

Does anyone remember The Grand Cinema, that stood near the railway bridge on Church Street?

Here it is being demolished in 1961, after an unsuccessful stint as a bingo hall.

However, before this sorry end, The Grand had lived a rich and varied life, beginning in November 1923 as a replacement for the Picture Palace on Chapel (Fluin) Lane.

In its heyday, The Grand had a 13-feet-deep stage with two dressing rooms underneath, a hallway decorated in red and gold and matching fringed curtains.

The fact that the building was located so close to the railway reportedly caused the cinema to vibrate whenever a train passed over the bridge – perhaps adding to the suspense of a action film or thriller?!

The Grand's first 'talkie' was an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Under the Greenwood Tree, whose sound arrived on a disc to be played alongside the film. This would inevitably lead to the dialogue falling out of sync with the pictures on occasion, which must have made for a confusing cinematic experience!

Originally owned by Frodsham Cinema Company Ltd, The Grand was taken over in the late 1930s by Byrom Picture Houses Ltd.

Films would be shown for three days, from Monday to Wednesday, and then Thursday to Saturday. There would also be a children's matinee on a Saturday afternoon.

In 1953, children from the neighbouring school trooped over to the cinema to watch a documentary about Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's successful attempt to reach the peak of Mount Everest.

The Grand's last film was Carry on Regardless, which was screened in the summer of 1961. At this time, its manager was a James Turner, who apparently sometimes went by the name of Jimmy Pictures.