Cineworld return keeps Bexleyhealth’s cinema heritage alive

New movies were first showcased on the site of the current Cineworld in Bexleyheath in 1913, when comedy singer Harry Quinton opened the Broadway Cinema.

Since then, the venue has been through several different identities, but had continuously showed films until the pandemic struck in 2020.

Lockdown meant it screens went blank, and the last outpost of Bexleyheath’s cinema heritage looked set at one stage to close for good.

Cineworld, a company operating over 100 cinemas cross the United Kingdom (and many more in other countries), was badly hit by Covid restrictions.

Initially, cinemagoers in Bexleyheath feared they lost their picture house for good as signs went up saying it was closed. Cineworld also shut 10 other sites in different parts of the UK. 

Like many towns, this south-east London community of around 32,000 once had several cinemas in golden screen’s 1940s-50s Hollywood heyday.

Over the years, though, these gradually disappeared to leave just the one. Because the Broadway Cinema was never equipped to show Cinemascope films, it closed on July 28 1956, but then re-opened as part of the ABC chain, with a bowling alley built above the adjacent car park.

In 1978, it conversion into a four-screen venue, then was taken over by the Cannon Group in 1982. Cineworld took over the site in 1995.

Although Bexleyheath is a thriving shopping and eating out location, its cinema would have been badly missed had Covid closed it permanently.

The local community thus breathed a sigh of relief when its Cineworld opened its doors for business again in March 2021.

Like many cinemas, it initially struggled as the release dates for several major movies were moved back as Covid regulations continued, but the pent-up demand was there and now business is booming.

Lisa Anderson, 22, who has worked for Cineworld for four years, told me: “In my first two years, I’d come expect the same thing every day, a handful of people every couple of hours.

“But after lockdown ended we saw a surge of customers like I had never seen before. People where turning up for the sake of being out, they didn’t even mind what film it was.”

Recalling the many months of the cinema’s closure, Lisa said: “It was scary, to be honest, I had no idea if I was going to keep my job, like most of the country. Although I work part-time I still do around 30 hours a week so this job means a lot to me.

“When they said we where re-opening it felt like a miracle. We were all so excited but we never expected the response we got last March.”

Lisa added she and the rest of the team at Cineworld in Bexleyheath are now looking forward to a bright future.

“I hope and I truly believe that we will see it this busy for a while. It’s been over a year since we re-opened and it has not slowed down. Financially, this is a great thing but for the community it’s even better.”

The uncertainty caused by the pandemic left us all isolated and longing for the return of normal nights out such as a simple trip to see a new movie with family or friends, and Bexleyheath would feel be incomplete without its longstanding haven for film fans.

A cinema has stood on the site of Cineworld for well over a century, so here’s to the next 100 years…

All photos by Taysan Ali-Osman.