Inside Harwich cinema thought to be one of the oldest in the country
It dates back to 1911
Last updated 8th Apr 2022
One of the oldest cinemas in the country, dating back to 1911, will re-open to the public today after four years of refurbishments which cost more than £1.5 million.
The Electric Palace Cinema in Harwich had work done to reinforce its roof, remove asbestos and stop a leaky floor.
Renovations began in 2018 and stretched into the beginning of this year.
David Looser, the cinema’s Chair of Trustees, is thrilled they've finally reopened: "It's a a great relief to be back open. We'd anticipated being able to open in 2019, but that didn't happen because of the asbestos.
"We then thought we might be able to open in 2020 but then the water in the floor postponed that.
"We actually weren't affected by covid at all, because we couldn't have opened anyway - in a weird way, it was kind of lucky!"
The restoration was, in part, funded by grants, with £474,791 coming from Historic England, including £151,291 from the government’s Culture Recovery Fund, and £1,033,900 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
WATCH: Our reporter went along to the cinema to get a look inside before it opens to the public...
As well as dealing with the vital issues mentioned above, the cinema's décor also had a touch up, although David says they were careful to preserve original Edwardian features: "It's one of the oldest cinemas in the country. What we like about this one is that it's been messed about with less than other old cinemas.
"Many other early cinemas were enlarged or re-modelled at some point but this one never was.
The colour isn't original, but the plaster work and the design is all original to 1911."
Given the spectacular setting, David says watching a film at the Electric Palace is a completely different experience to watching a film at a chain: "We show the same films and have the same sound system as most multiplexes have, so in that sense we offer the same experience.
"However, it's just a much more attractive setting to sit, it's not some black-walled, anonymous looking space.
"It's unique - there's no other cinema that looks exactly like this anywhere. It's just something special."