Lights, camera, renovation on the Paignton Picture House project

Paignton Picture House has entertained generations of cinema lovers since its opening in 1914. Now, thanks to a £7 million regeneration project, the stage is set for this iconic building to wow audiences once more.

The initial enabling phase is now complete, and with the historic building carefully stripped and assessed, everything is ready for the ambitious rebuild to begin in September.

The Torbay Weekly got an exclusive look inside the picture house, to see how this challenging yet inspiring project is coming along.

Opened on 16 March 1914, Paignton’s Picture House is believed to be the oldest purpose-built cinema in Europe that's still standing. While many were built at the beginning of the 1900s, Paignton is thought to be one of the only cinemas to survive.

In its early days, the cinema featured a 21-piece orchestra, with each member paid a guinea to perform. There were 375 seats: 271 in the stalls, 104 in the circle, plus three private boxes. Rather than seeing one film as we do today, the pictures would be left running constantly, and people would come and go as they pleased.

After decades of entertaining audiences, the cinema closed down on 26 September 1999 following the opening of a multiplex cinema at the other end of Torbay Road. It was then bought by its neighbours, the Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway. While the steam railway wanted to use it as a ticket office, the building’s Grade II Star listed status made any changes difficult, and the building fell into disuse.

That was until 2013 when a group of dedicated local people with a passion for historic buildings came together to set up the Paignton Picture House Trust, to return the building to its former glory.

Now there are several million pounds in the pot secured for the project, primarily through funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport but also from organisations including Historic England, the Architectural Heritage Fund and Rosalind Hicks Charitable Trust.

Work has now finished on the enabling phase, ready for the main contract to start in September.

“One of the first things we did was the facade of the building,” said Josephine Brown, Project Director for Paignton Picture House Trust.

“There was a wooden hoarding around it and it was all painted black. Restoring that to how it was set the project in motion and gave people an idea of how beautiful this building really is.”

While the facade of the building demonstrates what the building may look like, the interior is only the beginning of the story of restoration.

Walking into the cinema, the main auditorium is a stunning open space with a huge domed roof. While this auditorium is hugely impressive, its age presents unique challenges for its restoration.

One big issue is the period cornice skirting around the room. While it looks beautiful, the enabling phase of the project found that the cornice was attached to walls which have since rotted away. Now there is a real risk that it could crumble away from the wall. There is a strong chance the whole thing will have to be brought down before it can be secured properly.

Another issue the enabling phase has brought to light is the floor. Much of the lower part of Paignton was built on reclaimed marshland, but Josephine says that this is causing big problems as sea levels rise.

She said: “You can see climate change happening in this building, we’ve never had this kind of rising damp. In the auditorium, we’re only about 20 centimetres from the tidal mud and we can see the water level rising in the building.

“The early floor was made of concrete held together with cast iron. Now it’s got so damp here, that iron is expanding and blowing apart the concrete. This means that our structural engineers wouldn't feel comfortable putting an audience on it; we’ll have to restore it and then float a new structural load-bearing floor over the top.”

There are also issues in bringing such a historic building up to modern standards.

Josephine added: “It’s been a challenge for the team to deliver high conservation standards while getting it tech-wise to the level a modern auditorium needs to be. For things like acoustic performance, we need to be conscious as to exactly where every speaker goes.”

However, when the project comes together, the opportunities that the Picture House will offer Paignton are huge.

“There’s not many spaces like this in Paignton,” Josephine said.

“It won’t just be a piece of history, but an active part of the town. In the auditorium, there will be a large flat space for people to hire and use, whether it be for yoga, kids’ drama or just to meet.

“While it won’t be a full theatre, there will be space not just for cinema, but for live music, spoken word and orchestras.

“It's a huge opportunity but it's a huge responsibility for us to get everything right.”

Going upstairs onto the gallery, you’re met with a true piece of Torbay heritage; Agatha Christie’s seat at the Paignton Picture House. She would often visit the Picture House and would sit in row two, seat two, in the circle. It is said that whenever the Gaiety Cinema is mentioned in her books, it is actually the Paignton Picture House that she is speaking of.

The project is aiming to restore many of the Picture House’s original seats, and care has been taken to set Christie’s aside to be returned to the exact same space when the restoration is completed.

Josephine said: “Her family supports us and supports the Trust. Her grandson remembers coming here and we do a lot with the Agatha Christie Festival, they’re keen that this building will really celebrate her.

“I’ve had people in tears over this space. For the superfans, it shows that she used to go to the cinema just like we used to go, it humanises her. It makes her relatable.”

The designs for the restored Picture House are not yet public, but the canvas that the project has to work with is truly an astonishing one. The finished building will have the power to transform Paignton, just as the building did back when it was first built in 1914.

Paignton Picture House won’t just provide Torbay with a brand new arts venue, but a modern take on the area’s rich and exciting heritage.

Josephine added: “The level of interest and support we’ve had for this project has been really encouraging. This restoration won’t just just revert the building to what it was, but I think that we also have a modern, exciting vision for what it could be.

“People who believe in the Picture House believe in Paignton, and this project is a manifestation of the town's bright future.”