Staff say farewell as the final films are shown at the Odeon

A number of people witnessed a part of Banbury’s history disappear

The last film has been shown at the Odeon in Banbury.   After nearly 84 years current staff lined the foyer as the venue’s final cinema goers left the building on Banbury Horsefair.

A number of people were there to witness the moment a part of Banbury’s history disappeared.   Sarah Cleeton was amongst them and said it had been very emotional.

Sarah said: “I had been there pretty regularly since I was a child and more so lately.   I took my kids weekly to the Sunday morning showings.

The staff all lined up to see us out after the last film finished.   It was very moving.   Several older couples and a few other people had come down just to take photos and say goodbye.”

The cinema opened as The Regal on October 7, 1940 showing Ralph Richardson in “The Four Feathers”.    At the time the auditorium contained seating for 897 people at both stall and circle levels.

In 1954 the cinema was re-named Essoldo and then the Classic in 1972.   In 1973 the stalls and circle were split into two separate viewing areas, screen 1 and screen 2.   Initially the films upstairs were projected from the projection room downstairs using a periscope mirror system.

Further changes of ownership brought more name changes to Cannon (1986), ABC (1996) and Odeon (2001).

In May this year the Odeon Group announced they planned to permanently close the venue.   A spokesperson told Banbury FM: “We can confirm that we have made the difficult decision to close our Banbury cinema following a thorough assessment of all available options. We would like to apologise to our guests for any inconvenience this will cause.

“Supporting the ODEON Banbury team is our number one priority, and we would like to thank our colleagues for all their incredible work over the years at the cinema. We will be looking to secure jobs for as many of them as possible in our other local cinemas.”

Over the weekend people have been sharing their memories of visiting Banbury’s cinema.

Brad Rogers said: “I won the raffle at one of the Saturday matinées.   I got a big box of sweets and a huge ‘Ewoks the movie’ poster!  Probably 1985ish.”

Karen Stacey-Pope said: “[I remember] my brother taking me to see Grease, my first time at a cinema. He died not long afterwards. Special memories.”

Kim Hopkins recalled “going to see Convoy with my parents and it being full with lorry drivers and their families who worked at Banbury Buildings and Compton Buildings.”

A number of people remembered the special Saturday morning events with on stage fun as well as the films.    Michala Gillard said: “[I remember] taking my girls on Saturday mornings – and the girls still remember a man getting a cream pie in his face!”

Becky Walker remembered “watching Jaws 3 in 3D with paper glasses” and Hayley Adkins had a number of recollections from over the years.   She said: “I have lots of good [memories] – my Nan taking us.

“The excitement of it when you’re young means a lot. Memories of seeing Look Who’s Talking, Ghostbusters, Moonwalker, Aristocats, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, Three Men & A Little Lady, The Delinquents, Ghost plus loads more.

“I went in earlier for a final look & the staff were so helpful and friendly.   I wish them all the very best.

“Its sad to see it close.”

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Published: 05/06/2023 10:08am by Banbury FM Newsteam

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