Former Regal Cinema

The building is a former cinema, now operating as a bingo club and dance studios, located on Richmond Road in Kingston upon Thames. Built between 1930 and 1933, it was designed by Robert Cromie as the Regal Cinema. The exterior is constructed of brown brick, with rendered and banded plinth, and areas of plaster and faience decoration concentrated around the entrance and cornice. The structure has a rectangular plan, including a double-height hall with a balcony, originally accessed from foyers on two levels, with an upper level formerly serving as a tea room and now used as a dance studio, entered separately from a side street. A rear boiler house with a chimney is also present.

The main elevation facing Richmond Road features an entrance near the corner. The ground floor is banded and rendered, forming a plinth to a tall, largely blind facade punctuated by nine giant pilasters united by a linked band and a fluted concrete cornice. Four stepped or "fountain style" Art Deco niches are incorporated into this design. The entrance is through four original pairs of double doors, approached by steps and set under four stylised Ionic pilasters with wave and floral motifs in a faience tile surround. A canopy over the entrance is now covered in plastic. The foyer features a tripartite ceiling, a series of Art Deco panels, and four fluted columns. The auditorium has a proscenium arch with a rhythmic, modified Greek design, repeated below the balcony. Full-height fluting and Art Deco "fountain" style niches are present in the ventilation areas of the ante-proscenium and organ chambers. The ceiling has wavy, oval inset coves, with arcading on the upper side walls that incorporates original light fittings. The balcony fronts are decorated with fasces and lion’s head masks.

The dance studio, located on the first-floor level within the former tea room, is a five-bay hall with a sprung floor and a full-length seating area, separated by fluted square columns and paralleled by pilasters on the rear wall. Mirrors are set within Art Deco "fountain" motif surrounds. A small stage is positioned on the opposite side. The room has a deep coved ceiling and cornices, complemented by 1950s light fittings.

Former dressing rooms and office areas are not considered to be of special interest. The building is included on the list as an early and well-preserved example of an Art Deco cinema from the 1930s, and a good, rare example demonstrating the work of the cinema architect Robert Cromie, whose other designs were frequently for Davies or Union cinemas and are less commonly extant.