Having stood for almost 100 years, a former cinema faces another uncertain chapter in its future after a ferocious fire ripped through the building.
The old picturehouse, which opened as The Regal Cinema in 1933, later became the ABC and then the city’s Odeon branch until it closed in 2020, could have suffered irreparable damage in an inferno at the weekend.
The Odeon cinema in Canterbury has been cordoned off following a fire on Valentine’s Day – engineers are in the process of assessing the extent of the damage inside but there are fears it could collapse
The Art Deco-style structure stood firm during Canterbury’s darkest night, surviving damage during the infamous Baedeker Raid in 1942 when Nazi bombs dropped on the city.
It proudly reopened in the wake of the blitz, which destroyed medieval streets just a few hundred metres away in one of the oldest parts of the city – where the Whitefriars shopping centre is today.
Structural engineers are now assessing whether the building could collapse as they establish the full extent of damage caused by Saturday’s fire.
It’s feared the building, earmarked for conversion into 50 homes and sitting derelict while waiting for work to begin, could now be condemned.
Shocking images reveal the scale of the destruction inside the former Odeon, which closed in March 2020.
A total of 15 fire engines, two specialist height vehicles and large fans were deployed at the height of the blaze, which broke out at about 2pm on Valentine’s Day, and causing surrounding roads to be shut for almost 36 hours.
The fire at the former Odeon cinema in Canterbury on Saturday evening. Picture: Dwain Eldridge
Smoke could be seen billowing across the city, while students and nearby businesses were evacuated as a precaution.
Yesterday morning, three fire engines and a height vehicle remained at the scene, with a cordon still in place along the city-bound carriageway of St George’s Place, and a partial closure of Dover Street, located at the rear of the building. Part of Holman’s Meadow car park was also sealed off.
By 2.30pm on Monday, firefighting operations had been completed and it was finally confirmed that no injuries had been reported.
The cause – including whether it has been deemed suspicious or not – has not yet been established.
Louise Jones-Roberts, the boss of the adjoining Tokyo Tea Rooms nightclub, told KentOnline she is hopeful there will be no lasting damage to the venue.
The former city councillor has not been allowed inside her business since shortly after the fire started.
The Odeon pictured in 1997, when My Best Friend’s Wedding was showing
“Kent Fire and Rescue Service has worked hard to contain the blaze, but they could not risk sending people [into the Odeon] as they did not know the structural integrity of the building,” she said.
“They have a professional going in to assess it and are awaiting that report.
“We are not allowed in our building, as if [the Odeon] collapses, it will take everything out around it.”
Mrs Jones-Roberts, who also owns Club Chemistry in the city, was forced to move one of its events – Face Down – to her other venue on Monday as a temporary measure.
A city council spokesman says its emergency response was activated on Saturday, including an on-site Incident Liaison Officer, and it supported two people and a family who had been temporarily displaced.
“We arranged for Building Control to attend the site on Monday to provide expert structural engineering advice, and we have been liaising with the building’s owners about the action they need to take to ensure the site is safe,” he said.
The former Odeon cinema neighbours Tokyo Tea Rooms in Canterbury
“Our on-site officer also worked closely with other businesses affected to ensure they had all the information they needed, and most were able to reopen on Monday.
“We continue to support the relatively small number of people who have been unable to return to their properties until the building has been made safe.”
The site was most recently home to a two-screen Odeon, which shut its doors in March 2020 following the outbreak of Covid and was later used as a vaccination clinic.
The cinema chain had hoped to welcome film fans back when internal construction work was completed, but it was announced in August 2022 that it would not be reopening the cinema.
Back in January 2023, signs appeared on the boarded-up building, which also had a Costa Coffee outlet on the ground floor, advertising the site for let.
Canterbury City Council also earmarked the plot for about 50 new homes in its draft Local Plan.
Proposals suggested the site would have commercial facilities on the ground floor only with apartments above, heavily indicating there was no long-term future for it as a cinema, as one of its screens is on the first floor.
The cinema, on the left-hand side of this picture from September 1969, shows the ABC picturehouse as works begin to construct the roundabout and ring road around the city walls
Documents published by the authority stated the design and layout of any development should “respond to the site’s prominent and sensitive immediate context, including the City walls and other nearby heritage assets”.
It also said it must provide a “landmark building of innovative design, including high-quality detailing and materials”, but would provide no parking spaces for either the homes or the commercial side.
Former Conservative city councillor Mrs Jones-Roberts, who says she is “pro-development”, had mixed views about turning the building into homes.
“From our point of view, residential going next to us is less than ideal, but we need to live co-harmoniously,” she said.
She said this in relation to noise complaints she may receive regarding music at her nightclub.
“I always think it is sad to see a commercial site turned into residential, but we do now have two fantastic cinemas in the city,” she added.
The ABC Cinema in St George’s Place, Canterbury, showing buildings that have long disappeared. Undated file pictureCanterbury Sea Cadets passing The Regal in June 1955
The city council spokesman added that since Odeon’s closure, no planning applications have been submitted for the redevelopment of the site, and plans for its future “remain an issue solely for the owners”.
“In the current draft Local Plan, the site is allocated for a mixed development to include some commercial space and some residential,” he added.
The site was built for and opened by the County Cinemas chain as the Regal Cinema on August 5, 1933.
The opening film was Falling For You, starring Jack Hulbert.
The venue was taken over by Associated British Cinemas in April 1935, but was forced to close in 1942 after suffering bomb damage.
It reopened in February of the following year, and in 1963 was renamed ABC Cinema.
The souvenir programme for the opening of The Regal Cinema in Canterbury in 1933
In 1972, it closed for two months for work to take place to convert it into a venue offering both films and bingo
Later renamed Cannon Cinema, the bingo hall was converted back into cinema use in August 1988.
More takeovers saw its name change to the MGM Cinema, back to ABC Cinema, and then to the Odeon.
An Odeon spokesman said: “We are working closely with the emergency services and relevant authorities following the incident at our former Odeon site in Canterbury.
“We will provide any further updates when appropriate. We would like to thank the emergency services for their swift response.”
The firm did comment on the future of the site’s redevelopment set out in Canterbury City Council’s draft Local Plan.