Odeon cinema of 1936

2008: The Odeon is now known as the Royal and is still running as a cinema. A brief spell as a Bingo Hall has left a flat platform in the middle of the auditorium. The building is listed because of its original 'Tudorbethan' decorated interior.(1)

The nearest thing to an Odeon built in a pastiche manner was at Faversham where the cinema had to fit in with the historic town centre. Opened in 1936, it was designed by Andrew Mather in a Tudoresque style with a narrow exterior of local stone with projecting turret-like ends with crenellated parapet. The centre of the building was recessed and has a 7-light three-tier bay window with oak frame and leaded windows of coloured glass. This is flanked by panels with masks and strapwork. The canopy rests on grotesque female figures which were copied from those on an adjacent late 16th century house. To the fascia there are diamond shaped projections and this theme is echoed in the divisions of the illuminated panel beneath the canopy. The roof of hand-made tiles incorporated a steeple with a weather vane topped by a motif of a cameraman shooting a film. The historic them was carried through into the auditorium which was of a stadium type. There are lantern-shaped light fittings hung from an arched roof crossed by bands of decorative plaster work whilst the side walls has imitation timber-framed panels. In December 1967 the cinema was taken over by Classic and renamed the Classic. It was later taken over by Coral for films and bingo but from 1 May 1974 it became a full-time bingo club. However, from August 1990 some films were shown and on 11 February 1984 it opened again as a full-time cinema under the name the New Royal. (2-4)

Historic England archive material: BF053100 Odeon Cinema, Market Place, Faversham

<1> P Reid, Faversham Society, 2008, Royal Cinema (Verbal communication). SKE13294.

<2> Richard Gray, 2010, Cinemas in Britain : one hundred years of cinema architecture (Monograph). SKE55818.

<3> Rosemary Clegg, 1987, Odeon (Monograph). SKE55819.

<4> Allen Eyles, 2002, Odeon Cinemas: Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation: 1 (Monograph). SKE55820.