The Picture House Project Cinema heritage, restored frame by frame

The Picture House Project

Cinema heritage, restored frame by frame

Latest Articles

Keeping Time in the Dark: Britain’s Cinema Clocks and the Volunteers Winding Them Back
Preservation Stories

Keeping Time in the Dark: Britain’s Cinema Clocks and the Volunteers Winding Them Back

Above the screen, in hundreds of British picturehouses, there is a circle that no longer does anything. Auditorium clocks once timed intervals, cued projectionists and quietly kept a whole evening in order. A small band of volunteers is now trying to make them tick again — and discovering that the humblest dial in the building can be the hardest thing to restore.
Counter Culture: The Small Cinema Kiosk That Keeps the Interval Alive
People & Memories

Counter Culture: The Small Cinema Kiosk That Keeps the Interval Alive

The cinema kiosk is easy to overlook: a modest counter, a lit cabinet, a queue that forms just as the reel changes. But for generations of British picturegoers, the interval tray and the choc-ice were part of the performance. In 2026, restored venues are rediscovering that the smallest counter in the building can carry an enormous amount of memory.
The Glow Before the Feature: Bringing Britain's Cinema Canopies Back to the Street
Preservation Stories

The Glow Before the Feature: Bringing Britain's Cinema Canopies Back to the Street

The auditorium gets the applause, but the canopy does the greeting. As another wet November settles over the high street, we look at the disappearing marquees that once lit up British picturehouses — and why switching that first welcome back on is the step restoration budgets keep skipping.
The Frame on the Wall: In Defence of Britain's Hand-Painted Cinema Poster Cases
Preservation Stories

The Frame on the Wall: In Defence of Britain's Hand-Painted Cinema Poster Cases

Long before a phone in your pocket knew what was on, the poster case on the wall did the job — one week at a time, in somebody's own lettering. As more former picturehouses come back to life, we make the case for treating that frame as part of the building, not an afterthought.
The Empty Gallery: Britain’s Shut-Off Balconies and the Case for Sending Audiences Upstairs Again
Preservation Stories

The Empty Gallery: Britain’s Shut-Off Balconies and the Case for Sending Audiences Upstairs Again

Many British picturehouses still have an upper circle that has spent decades holding spare signage, old seats and boxes of paperwork rather than audiences. Reopening those balconies is not simply a matter of sweeping the stairs and flicking a switch, but it may be one of the most rewarding preservation arguments left in the building. This is the case for giving the upstairs another look.
The Sixpence Republic: What Saturday-Morning Cinema Clubs Taught Britain About Belonging
People & Memories

The Sixpence Republic: What Saturday-Morning Cinema Clubs Taught Britain About Belonging

Long before family tickets and loyalty apps, Britain’s picturehouses ran Saturday-morning clubs where children queued with sixpence, sang club songs and cheered serial heroes together. The rituals of the ABC Minors and Odeon children’s clubs offer a surprisingly useful model for restored cinemas in 2026.
Swirls, Diamonds and the Memory of a Floor: Why Cinema Carpets Matter
Preservation Stories

Swirls, Diamonds and the Memory of a Floor: Why Cinema Carpets Matter

A close look at the bold patterns under our feet — how restorers research, remake and sometimes rescue British cinema carpets, and why the floor deserves as much attention as the foyer.
Ghost Schemes: How Volunteers Are Rebuilding Britain's Lost Cinema Interiors from a Shoebox of Snapshots
Preservation Stories

Ghost Schemes: How Volunteers Are Rebuilding Britain's Lost Cinema Interiors from a Shoebox of Snapshots

Foyer murals painted over in 1958. Ceilings papered in patterns nobody photographed properly. For most of Britain's picturehouses, the decorative scheme is gone for good — unless a stray snap or a builder's invoice survives. Meet the volunteers trying to draw it back.
When the Bingo Caller Moved Out: The Picturehouses That Found Their Way Back to Film
Preservation Stories

When the Bingo Caller Moved Out: The Picturehouses That Found Their Way Back to Film

Some of Britain's most beloved picturehouses spent decades as bingo halls, supermarkets or churches before finding their way back to film. Their second acts are less about nostalgia than about what a community decides a building is for.
Caps, Brass Buttons and a Nod at the Door: Remembering the Cinema Commissionaire
People & Memories

Caps, Brass Buttons and a Nod at the Door: Remembering the Cinema Commissionaire

Before ticket scanners and self-service kiosks, many British picturehouses had a commissionaire at the door: a uniformed figure who took tickets, opened doors, helped the elderly and kept the Saturday matinee from turning into chaos. Their story belongs in cinema heritage, not just in old photographs.
Rows of Evidence: What Britain's Old Cinema Seats Still Tell Us About How We Watched
Restoration Debates

Rows of Evidence: What Britain's Old Cinema Seats Still Tell Us About How We Watched

Every refurbishment eventually reaches the seats, and that is where the arguments start. Upholstery, tip-up mechanisms, sightlines, fire regulations and step-free access all collide in a single row — and the way a picturehouse answers says a lot about what kind of cinema it wants to be.
The Light at the Back of the Room: Why a Restored Cinema Is Only Half Finished Without a Working Booth
Preservation Stories

The Light at the Back of the Room: Why a Restored Cinema Is Only Half Finished Without a Working Booth

Plasterwork gets the fundraising poster and the ribbon-cutting photo, but the real test of a restored picturehouse happens forty feet above the audience. We look at the volunteers, engineers and changeover desks keeping Britain's booths alive — and why a sealed-off projection room is a museum cupboard with a nice view.
Cream, Crimson and the Courage of Colour: Why Britain’s Picturehouses Shouldn’t Be Beige
Restoration Debates

Cream, Crimson and the Courage of Colour: Why Britain’s Picturehouses Shouldn’t Be Beige

Paint analysis can reveal the exact cream, crimson or peppermint a cinema once wore on opening night. So why do so many restorations reach for the grey? A case for letting British picturehouses be bold again.
Behind the Tab: The Quiet Craft of Restoring Britain’s Picturehouse Curtains
Preservation Stories

Behind the Tab: The Quiet Craft of Restoring Britain’s Picturehouse Curtains

Stage tabs, teasers and house curtains were once part of the drama itself — a promise that something was about to happen. We meet the conservators and riggers bringing Britain’s picturehouse curtains back to life, one weighted hem at a time.
The Scars That Stay: What a Century of Running Repairs Tells Us About Restoring Britain's Picture Houses
Preservation Stories

The Scars That Stay: What a Century of Running Repairs Tells Us About Restoring Britain's Picture Houses

Behind every grand cinema restoration is a paper trail of bodges, patches and 'that'll do for now' fixes. We look at the masking tape, mismatched moquette and pencil notes that record how Britain's picture houses actually stayed open — and why conservators increasingly argue that not every scar should be erased.
Ninety Years Late, the Pit Band Is Back: Live Scores Are Filling Britain's Restored Cinemas
Heritage Trails

Ninety Years Late, the Pit Band Is Back: Live Scores Are Filling Britain's Restored Cinemas

Across the UK this year, restored picture houses are commissioning new live scores for silent films — from brass bands and folk fiddlers to synth duos and church organists. Here's why a room full of musicians changes how an audience reads both the print and the building, plus practical notes for venues and ticketholders.
The Pipes Are Still Warm: Hearing Restored Cinema Organs Live Across Britain in 2026
Heritage Trails

The Pipes Are Still Warm: Hearing Restored Cinema Organs Live Across Britain in 2026

From Compton consoles to Wurlitzer thunder, a handful of British picturehouses still put their theatre organs in front of live audiences. Here is why they mattered, what restoration takes, and where to hear one in 2026.
The Usherette's Tale: Why Oral Histories Should Be Part of Every Cinema Restoration
Preservation Stories

The Usherette's Tale: Why Oral Histories Should Be Part of Every Cinema Restoration

Plans show where the stalls ended and the circle began. They do not show the queue round the block, the ice cream tray in the interval or the fog of cigarette smoke on the balcony. If we want to restore picturehouses properly, we need to record the people who remember them.
Terrazzo, Ticket Hatches and Time Travel: Twelve British Cinema Foyers Worth the Journey in 2026
Heritage Trails

Terrazzo, Ticket Hatches and Time Travel: Twelve British Cinema Foyers Worth the Journey in 2026

The best room in a picturehouse is often the one before the screen. From a 1930s newsreel kiosk in Newcastle to a Glasgow School doorway in Kintyre, here are twelve surviving foyers where the walk in is half the night out. All are working venues, so check listings before you travel.
Look Up, Look Again: The Former Picturehouses Hiding in Plain Sight on Britain's High Streets
Preservation Stories

Look Up, Look Again: The Former Picturehouses Hiding in Plain Sight on Britain's High Streets

Half the cinemas Britain ever built are now bingo halls, supermarkets, churches or furniture showrooms — and the buildings are still talking if you know what to look for. A delve into the afterlives of our closed picture palaces, the people who remember them in their picture-going pomp, and the campaigns trying to hand some of them back to their communities.