Cinemas in Faversham and Sittingbourne

We start in Faversham's Market Square where we see the New Royal cinema, bingo hall and social centre. Built in a mock-Tudor style, the building blends in well with its surroundings. The decorative plasterwork gives a clue to the original owner. At Preston Street we see a baroque-style shop facade that was once the Gem Cinema before we end at the Cannon Cinema in Sittingbourne with its Moderne-style frontage. A couple at the entrance look at posters before moving on.

Faversham's New Royal cinema was originally opened as an Odeon in 1936. Designed by Andrew Mather in a mock-Tudor style it blends into its medieval surroundings. The cinema was altered in 1974 to include a bingo hall before it finally closed in 1992. Plans to demolish the cinema were opposed by pressure groups and a local film society now uses the cinema to show a variety of films. The 'Gem', opened in 1912 and originally called the Gem Picture Palace, lasted until 1935 when a modern cinema called the Argosy opened a few doors away. The final cinema seen in the film was also originally opened as an Odeon in 1937. After various changes of owner, it is today partly a cinema and partly a bingo hall.