Former Longford & Esseldo Cinema

Image: © Gerald England Taken: 3 Mar 2022

Across the A56 Chester Road is the Grade II listed https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1240376?section=official-list-entry former cinema built in 1936 by Henry Elder for the Jackson and Newport cinema circuit. The Chester Road entrance was designed to resemble a cash register, with stepped convex surfaces curving upwards and backwards. This was amongst the first, and is the only survivor of Elder's cinemas, a building in which the striking and explicit frontage motifs were held to represent his belief that the film industry of the day was primarily concerned with money and sex. The design represents a dramatic departure from theatre-influenced cinema planning, and acknowledged the different spatial and technical requirements of wide screen cinematography. In August 1950, the Cinema was purchased by the Essoldo Circuit, who renamed the building 'The Stretford Essoldo. They continued to run the cinema until it shut down in 1965. In the 1980s it became a Top Rank Bingo Hall but that closed in 1995 and the building has lain empty since then. The Longford Cinema website has been tracking its history: https://longfordcinema.co.uk/

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