The Coronet Cinema is a
twin screen cinema that has been at the heart of the Notting Hill area for over
100 years. Originally designed as a theatre by W.G.R. Sprague, a designer of
many London’s West End theatres, it was built for the then grand sum of
£25,000. The building first opened it's doors in 1898 and was regularly
frequented by King Edward VII. Many of the biggest stars of the day including
Ellen Terry and Sara Bernhardt trod its boards. Films first made an appearance
as part of the variety bills at the theatre in 1916. The building became a full
time cinema in 1923 and has been in operation as such continuously ever since.
The ghost of a female
cashier reputedly haunts the cinema. Legend has it that when she was caught
fiddling the box office receipts and confronted by the manager, she dashed out
of his office, ran upstairs, then threw herself from the balcony.
In 1923, when the
building went over to full time films, it was renamed The Coronet Cinema. A new
projection box was installed in the former dress circle bar and the capacity
was reduced from 1,143 to 1,010. Sound arrived in 1930 when a ticket would cost
you 6d. (about 2p) The cinema was taken over by Gaumont/Provincial
Cinematography Theatres in 1931 when the theatre boxes were removed, although
the rest of the elaborate auditorium was retained.
The new owners upgraded
the sound and doubled the price of a ticket to 1/-. (5p) In 1950 the cinema was
renamed The Gaumont and the gallery was closed. By the 1960s the cinema was
running second run, off-release, moving over films from other local first run
cinemas.
Late in 1972, The Rank
Organisation who operated the cinema put in plans to demolish the building. The
plan was to build shops and offices on the site, but a huge outcry and a petition,
which included the support of film star Deborah Kerr, thwarted this. The local
Council stepped in and declared the immediate area a conservation area and the
supporters won the fight. Rank relented and refurbished the cinema, but in 1977
sold it to an independent operator Panton Films, who changed the name back to
The Coronet.
In recent years the
cinema has featured in many films, TV programmes and adverts. Famously, the
cinema featured in Notting Hill, starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. The
cinema was also the last cinema in London to allow smoking in its auditorium, a
practise now discontinued.
When the cinema was put
up for sale in 2004, the sale attracted a lot of controversy and media
attention. Various schemes were put forward including one from Stelios
Haji-Ioannou, the founder of EasyJet, to turn the cinema into London’s first
EasyCinema. Hollywood stars Joseph Fiennes, and Gillian Anderson got involved
in a petition along with filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci. Once all the dust died
down the cinema was bought by a local church, The Kensington Temple.
The new owners closed the
cinema for a week on 12th May 2004, and there were fears that it would be
converted into a church. However, a week later The Coronet re-opened. The new
owners gave assurances that The Coronet would continue as a cinema, and they
were plans for a detailed restoration of this historic building. True to their
word, the church has invested, mainly behind the scenes, a large amount of
money into the cinema. Screen two has had its sound upgraded and both cinemas have
had new screens and projection lenses. The toilets have been completely
remodelled, and the foyer has received attention with the addition of a new
kiosk and box office.
In 2014 a local theatre
called The Print Room took over the building – the staff are all very, very
excited...
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