Seven-Sisters-Lost-Cinemas-Walk_A4

Seven Sisters Stories Walking Tours
In Search of Seven Sisters Lost Cinemas
1. Marlborough Theatre
The Marlborough Theatre was designed by Frank
Matcham, a well known London theatre architect.
Films were first shown at the Marlborough as part
of its Sunday variety programme.
- taking an illuminating journey into local cinema history
A free self-guided walk that explores the history of various cinemas that have dotted the
Seven Sisters area. The walk is an opportunity to learn a little about Islington’s rich cinematic
past as you discover former ‘picture-palaces’ that are still standing and hunt out the ‘pennygaffs’
that leave only their ghostly traces behind.
397 Holloway Road
Opened: Theatre 1903, Films 1907, Cinema 1918
Closed: 1957
Today: City and Islington College
In 1918 the building was refurbished and it
re-opened as a cinema. Its decoration was lavish.
Along with the refurbished auditorium there was
a tea lounge equipped with cane chairs and palm
trees. Rumour had it that the ghost of an elegant
Edwardian gentleman could be seen walking around
the building late at night. The first ‘talking’ picture
to be shown at the Marlborough was Al Jolson’s ‘The Singing Fool’ (26th August 1929). As other cinemas
opened in the area competition grew, and the Marlborough closed on 31 August 1957, the building was
demolished five year’s later.

2. Parkhurst Cinema
401 Holloway Road
Opened: Theatre 1891, Cinema 1908
Closed: 1926
Today: Carpetright
The Parkhurst Cinema was another cinema
that started life as a theatre but in 1908 it was
purchased by Biograph Theatre Ltd who converted
it into a full-time cinema. The Parkhurst had a
beautiful auditorium decorated in shades of green,
yellow and brown, and a think green velvet carpet
ran throughout. In the projection booth at the rear
the auditorium there were two of the latest Charles
Urban projectors. As for the foyer, it was decked
out in marble with yellow and gold embossed
walls.
It was not always glitz and glamour at the
Parkhurst though, plagued by drainage problems
during 1916 cinemagoers were issued with checkout
passes and told to use the conveniences in
the street! The Parkhurst closed in 1926 and was
soon demolished to be replaced by the Holloway
Arcade, itself demolished in the 1990s to make
way for a new development that included student
accommodation and a carpet shop.
3. Ideal Cinema
Bowman’s Place
Opened: 1912
Closed: 1917
Today: Vacant area in school playground
The Ideal Cinema was a short-lived venue built on
the site of former tramcar stables. The cinema was
designed by the cinema architect team Lovegrove
& Papworth, who were responsible for a number
of cinemas in Islington. The auditorium walls were
decked out in French grey panels on a background
of Indian red. The cinema employed their own
orchestra who accompaned the silent films of the
time.

Keeping a cinema going was an expensive business
and not all could manage, and the Ideal Cinema,
certainly didn’t stay that way for long. In five-short
years the cinema had fallen into disrepair, and
was forcible shut by London County Council due
‘neglect’ and considered unsafe. It closed its doors
for the final time on 23 December 1917.
The building was used as a warehouse for
sometime before been completely demolished.
4. Holloway Cinematograph Theatre (Pykes)
71-83 Seven Sister Road
Opened: 1911
Closed: 1937
Today: 99p Store
The Holloway Cinematograph Theatre was
opened in 1911 by the cinema ‘king’ Montagu
Pyke. At his peak Pyke owned 14 cinemas across
central London. The Holloway Cinematograph
Theatre (which was affectionately known as
‘Pykes’) had a narrow frontage and ran down the
side of Axminster Road (then called Devonshire
Road). As well as screening other people’s films,
the cinema management would make their own local interest films and show them to a packed-out house
a few days after filming.
Pyke’s empire did not last and within 4 years he had lost all his cinemas, including the one in Holloway.
In 1930 the well-known cinema architect George Cole was involved in refurbishing the cinema but its days
were numbered and by the summer of 1937 it had closed. The building was soon demolished and the site
incorporated into the North London Drapery Store. Today it has mixed use as a retail unit and an apartment
blocked called ‘The Drapery’.

5. Hornsey Palace
335 Hornsey Road
Opened: 1911
Closed: 1937
Today: Local authority housing
Hornsey Palace was a strange cinema nestled in
the back gardens of a row of Victorian houses.
The cinema was accessed through the front door
of No. 335 and exited from No. 345 further up
Hornsey Road. Straddling the gardens in between
the two was a long hall that functioned as a 500-
seat auditorium. In its early days the cinema was
something of a ‘palace’, decorated in crimson panels, seats upholstered in green leather and carpeted
throughout. By 1920 it had been re-named the ‘Star’. After that the cinema slowly declined and became
more of a fleapit than a star, as one person remembers: ‘it was the sort of place you only visited once’.
Money had to be found for various repairs over the years
and even more for installing sound equipment in 1930
(a cost in the region of £2,000-£4,000); one of the last
owners, exasperated, wrote to London County Council: ‘this
cinema has cleared me right up so far as cash is concerned,
so costly has the work proved on this building, that I am
stone broke’. Despite being popular with locals the cinema
closed in 1937. Some years later it was demolished and
replaced by local authority housing.
6. Electric Vaudeville
228 Seven Sister Road
Opened: 1909
Closed: 1916
Today: Multi-use shop
The Electric Vaudeville was opened in 1909 by two
business partners who wanted to cash in on the
cinema craze that was taking off across London.
Having spotted a disused shop on Seven Sisters
Road close to Finsbury Park they instructed the
architectural firm Lovegrove & Papworth to turn
it into a cinema. Initially, it only had seating for
70, though over time this was expanded to 175.
Within a year of opening it was renamed the Bijou
Theatre. The cinema was primarily used to show
newsreels.
The exact closing date of the cinema is uncertain
but likely it was some point between 1914-1916;
the London Fire Brigade visited the site in 1916
(iduring a fire safety spot-check) and reported
that for the second time they found the premises
‘apparently closed as a cinematograph hall and
now used as a “fun city” including a “shooting
range”’.

7. Astoria
232-236 Seven Sister Road
Opened: 1930
Closed: 1971
Today: Church
The Astoria opened on the 29th September 1930 with
a gala performance that included ballet and dance
performances. The cinema was spectacular - an
extravagant and elaborate recreation of a Spanish palace.
Over 200 uniformed staff were emplyed, a full orchestra
and an auditorium that could seat 3000. Not only were
blockbuster films shown, but live shows, such Frank
Sinatra, The Beach Boys and Nat King Cole were common.
In 1955 the actor Jack Hawkins attended the cinema’s
25th anniversary to present long service awards to
the staff. In his speech he assured the audience that
television ‘offered no serious threat to cinema’ – how
wrong could he be The Astoria closed in September
1971, less than two months later the building re-opened
as a rock venue called the ‘Rainbow’. In 1974 the building
was given Grade II listing. Today, with guidance from
English Heritage, the church that now owns the building
has reinstated much of the Astoria’s original internal
decoration.
8. Scala
15 The Parade, Stroud Green Road
Opened: 1914
Closed: 1924
Today: Sainsbury’s Local
The Scala was a low-key cinema that lasted just
10 years. It was built on a site that was originally
a railway goods and coal depot. Positioned on
the hill meant there was a naturally raked floor
offering unobstructed views of the screen. The
Scala presented a continuous programme that ran
between 2.30pm - 10.30pm each day, made up of
newsreels, comedies and adventure episodes.
In 1920 the cinema was taken over and
re-named the ‘New Scala’. But it was never a
hugely successful enterprise given the impressive
Finsbury Park Cinematograph Theatre was so
close, and when that cinema was extended
quadrupling its capacity, the Scala found audience
numbers dropped too low to keep going. The Scala
closed in 1924, the building was used as a billiard
hall, factory, and then a venue for Irish dancing.
It was demolished in 2007 to make way for an
apartment block and supermarket.

9. Finsbury Park Cinematograph Theatre
269 Seven Sister Road
Opened: 1909
Closed: 1958
Today: Lidl Supermarket
The Finsbury Park Cinematograph Theatre was Islington’s first purpose built cinema - another that was
constructed on the site of an old tramway shed. It was the second in Montagu Pyke’s chain of cinemas.
The front of the building was stone and white enamel. Once inside the there was a waiting area decorated
in pink and white and the auditorium was decorated in green, pink and terra cotta; ferns and other plants
were positioned either side of the screen. When Pyke went out of business in 1915 the cinema was taken
over and re-named the ‘Rink’. The new owners extended the cinema utilizing the skating rink that was at
the rear of the building – it increased the size of the auditorium from 620 to 2,213 seats.
In 1923 the cinema presented one of the UK’s first public demonstration of a ‘sound-on-film’, though the
system was still to be refined. The cinema was a grand affair and popular throughout most of its life,
having the added bonus of a restaurant attached. In 1950 under new management it was re-named the
Gaumont. When it closed in 1958 the building was used for dances, snooker and later bingo.
The outside of the building is still somewhat recognisable even though it is a supermarket.
About
In Search of Seven Sisters Lost Cinemas is a self-guided walk that was devised by Islington artist
Sam Nightingale. Sam does a series of walks as part of ‘Islington’s Lost Cinemas’ - a cultural history and
art project that celebrates and enlivens the history of cinema in Islington.
This walk was specially designed for Seven Sisters Stories. The project is supported by Heritage Lottery
Fund and Islington Council and produced by Rowan Arts.
For more walking tours and to discover the history of Seven Sisters Road visit:
www.sevensistersstories.com
www.rowanarts.net
www.islingtonslostcinema.com