Regent Cinema

The Regent Cinema was built in 1937 in Lyme Regis for D W Hardy (Lyme Regis Cinema Co.), designed by William Henry Watkins. It is a rendered brick building. The cinema has a stadium-style auditorium behind a spacious foyer and a shop front.

The exterior is in a subdued classical style, set back from the other buildings to create a forecourt. The main entrance is on the right side, with three sets of double doors featuring original horizontal glazing bars, alongside a double-fronted shop. The upper storey is symmetrical, with a central section projecting above the lower flanking sections. This central section has three round-headed windows separated by pilasters with Art Deco capitals, containing small-paned glazing in a neo-Georgian style. The cinema’s name, “REGENT,” is displayed above the windows. “Pseudo-triglyphs” are situated at attic level below the cornice, and the flanking sections have a single vertical slit window on each side. The roof of the auditorium rises above the foyer.

Inside, the spacious foyer leads to a double-height, Art Deco-style stadium-type auditorium – a design with stepped seating instead of a balcony. Two vomitories provide access to the auditorium, which is arranged in a series of bays defined by regularly spaced ceiling beams. The rear bay curves towards the proscenium with moulded plaster, featuring undulating vertical mouldings likely intended for a “Brenograph” system of color-changing lighting. A continuous horizontal plaster moulding with a wave-like motif adds detail to the dado.

The Regent Cinema is a largely unaltered example of a small-town super-cinema from the 1930s. Watkins was a significant Bristol-based cinema architect, typically employing a neo-classical style. The auditorium is a rare instance of his more modern design sensibilities, demonstrating a light and convincing approach for a cinema of its size.