Abbey Cinema

Detached cinema, built c.1945, having four-bay two-storey front (north) elevation, with foyer and ticket office to front with cantilevered canopy, flanked by crenellated square-plan towers, and with five-bay side elevation, and lean-to addition to south elevation. Now disused. Pitched fibre cement roof. Some cast-iron rainwater goods. Painted rendered walls, with render pilaster buttresses to side elevations. Square-headed openings throughout, having paired door openings with half-glazed timber panelled double doors with overlights, now boarded, with terrazzo with tile inlay to steps. Square-headed window opening with canopy over, now boarded, to ticket office. Square-headed window openings to towers, boarded to ground floor, with remains of multi-pane timber casement windows to first floor.

An unusual combination of modernist and historicist detailing, evocative of the high period of Hollywood movies. It is a reminder of a time when the cinema played an important role in local society. Although in poor condition and having lost much fabric, the form of the building survives, and the decorative, fanciful façade with a barn-like structure to the rear is typical of cinemas of the period. Its decorative style and elements make it an interesting contribution to the streetscape.