Castle Cinema

10-11 Burgate,
Pickering, YO18 7AU

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Functions: Housing

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Castle Cinema

The Castle Cinema in Burgate, Pickering is a fairly typical example of a small town cinema with its streamlined facade, fairly large foyer and single level 550 seat auditorium. It opened in 1937.

During the 1970’s and 1980’s it struggled to survive, with frequent short lived closures, and in 1990 it was acquired for redevelopment into housing and permission to demolish granted. However the Castle Cinema, still a marginally profitable venture clung on and the threat was lifted. The owners partitioned the building across the width of the cinema with the rear half remaining a cinema using the stepped area of seating to provide a comfortable 250 seater with a large screen. The front former screen end became a children’s play area. The foyer has been put to good use by introducing a small cafe open throughout the day.

These changes are the only ones, apart from the widening of the screen area to allow for CinemaScope in 1953, that have been made to the Castle Cinema and it remains substantially as built. It was never however a very ornate building. The cinema is now adorned with movie posters and old projectors.

Sadly the Castle Cinema was closed on 1st September 2006. It was converted into apartments around 2013.

Contributed by Ian Grundy

Recent comments (view all 3 comments)

wingrave
wingrave on November 23, 2006 at 7:53 am

The Castle Cinema looks as though it is now closed for good. No notice of film programmes in the press, or internet. The lesees tried hard to make it work over the years so must be congratulated on giving it a try at least with the children’s fun area and cinema using the rear stalls. The closure will benefit the Palace in Malton [only 5 miles away] which has been a “twin screen” cinema with digital projection in one auditorium for the past year.

Ian
Ian on January 1, 2007 at 5:07 am

Interior shot of the Castle cinema in 2005 here:-
http://flickr.com/photos/12494104@N00/340774810/

Biffaskin
Biffaskin on March 4, 2012 at 10:10 am

Yes, closed for good, street view shows the old cinema being converted to flats.

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