Woolton`s cinema was designed in 1926 by Lionel AG Pritchard, (member of The Associate Royal Institute of British Architects).He was an established architect who designed many cinema’s on merseyside, including the Plaza Crosby, West Derby Village picture house, Clubmoor picture house, The Reo cinema Longmoor lane and the Ritz Anfield.
The location chosen to build the Woolton Picture house was less than idyllic with its close proximity to residential housing on Mill Street and Mason Street with its challenging steep hill. However the steep gradient was adapted very effectively by the architect to create a stadium like auditorium in a very compact and refined space. Shortly after The design plans were finished, with an outlay of £10,000 to complete the venture, the proprietors “The Woolton picture house co Ltd” were granted a magistrates licence on condition the main construction of the building be complete within six months.

Work began proper in April 1927 on Woolton villages first and only purpose built cinema. The building construction was completed on schedule by October 1927 with the interior finishing touches made in November/December 1927. Although the cinema celebrates its opening on December 26th there is actually no official recording of the opening date or memory of the first film shown. From records and licences it can be presumed the cinema opened sometime between December 1927 and February 1928.                            

The Auditoria originally had a seating capacity of over 800 this included several rows of wooden benches towards the back of the hall. In or around 1930 (with the advent of movie sound) the screen was brought forward to accommodate large loudspeakers behind it. To do this the first few rows of seats had to be removed. The financial loss due to a reduced seating capacity was however soon overcome by the pulling power of the talking movies .
In the 1930`s, came the ever growing popularity of the silver screens of Merseyside and with little urban competition the Woolton cinema ensured its success and prosperity to last through the 1940`s. The cinema remained open throughout the war years, surviving the bombing raids of WW2 whilst providing the close knit local community of Woolton a vital window to the front line, courtesy of the Pathe Newsreel.
After the war years modest Success continued and in 1954 the ownership of the cinema changed hands from the proprietor R L Weller to Robert Godfrey of Cheshire county cinemas. It wasn’t until the 22nd September 1958 when the cinema’s continuity was dramatically disrupted by a fire near the front of the screen which soon spread, almost destroying the public area of the Auditorium. The building remained closed for three months, during this time extensive work was essential in order to bring the building back to its original condition.Whilst maintaining the same original décor and ambiance of the 1920`s the new refurbishment included comfortable seating (which reduced the capacity to under 600) plus a new screen, new curtains and a new air ventilation system
The eagerly awaited Reopening was on the 22nd of December 1958 with the showing of Walt Disney’s “Old yeller” plus the supporting film “sail into danger”.

During the 1960`s at a time when many of the old style single screen cinema’s of Merseyside had already fell victim to changing public trends & the advent of colour tv. Wooltons regular cinemagoers and the success of the popular children’s serial film Saturday matinees helped secure the Woolton`s future. With American style multi screen cinema looming on the horizon.The owners Cheshire County cinema’s could not afford to be complacent. In the 1980`s they revamped the front exterior of the building by adding a prominent row of large white steel slats, new canopy and new illuminated signs.
During their time in ownership they also installed a new wall-to-wall screen proscenium, along with new carpeting, 256 luxury Pullman seats, (reducing the capacity further for a much more spacious and comfortable setting). Cautious of a uncertain future they had also applied for a betting license for the intended use of bingo and although the betting and gaming board had no objections the ideas were later shelved by the cinema owners themselves.
By the 1990`s Cheshire county cinema’s had reduced their chain of cinema’s and were seeking a new buyer for the Woolton cinema.The threat of closure was treated with despair by both cinema staff and the local community.
            
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