Cinema For Selsey? – Selsey Life – Monday, 1 September 2008

Cinema For Selsey? The new Selsey Hall was built on the site of an old thatched house by a local resident, Henry W. Hocking in 1913. A 21 year lease of the building was taken by Thomas Sidney Jones of Brent Road, Plumstead. The Selsey Hall was used for various functions, including live shows and dinners, but seems to have operated primarily as a cinema, using 350 fold-away chairs. It was described as the Cinema Hall when in October 1914 it was used for a series of variety entertainments to promote recruiting. Throughout the First World War it continued to be used for concerts, plays, variety shows, as well as cinema, and indeed was the venue for a Peace Dinner on 3rd September 1919. It was used for concerts by the Selsey Minstrels and the local Musical Society. Good class vaudeville acts were often featured and the Russian Ballet Company performed at the Pavilion in September 1925. Disaster struck, after a Friday night dance on 20th August 1926 the building had to be closed due to a major fire for the remainder of the season. The Selsey Horticultural Society held its annual show here in the early 1930s and the Selsey Follies were a frequent stage attraction between the wars. Sophie Tucker, who visited Selsey for a holiday each year, usually put on a show for which the top admission price ran as high as 7s 6d. Films were still shown during the Second World war despite the high incidence of air raids on Selsey, evidence of the popularity of the cinema as a refuge from a harsh reality. In the post-war years the Pavilion (by now fitted with the better British Acoustic sound system) had a succession of operators- finally, Jack Tupper. From the late 1950s films were shown only in the summer months and the Pavilion was shut during the rest of the year except for special events and the local Christmas pantomime show. Films were several months old by the time they reached Selsey but they continued to be a holiday attraction until the autumn of 1964 when the season concluded with the two-day booking of the Disney family film "Summer Magic" on Friday 18th and Saturday 19th September. The building survives in 2008, adjacent to the Crown public house, looking much the same as it ever did on the outside. But it is no longer in entertainment use, having become the premises of W K Thomas & Co Ltd, a business handling disposable catering supplies. W K Thomas & Co have now put the premises on the market including the out-buildings. Selsey Town Council have set up a working committee to look into the viability of purchasing the site and how it can benefit the people of Selsey. Their findings so far are that Selsey has a long history of entertaining themselves and the site lends itself to become a Cinema / Theatre, Heritage Museum and a workshop for the performing arts. The reality is that to buy the site the Selsey Town Council could raise a loan but it could cost Selsey ratepayers an extra £10 /15 per year and then there is the question of the cost of renovation. There is a meeting on Friday 12th September, 7.30pm at the Town hall to hear your views on the subject and to answer questions such as : 1. Should Selsey Town Council purchase the site? 2. Would the residents be willing to pay an extra £10 / 15 per year? 3. How could we raise the money for renovations? 4. Are there any benefactors interested? 5. Do you want to get involved? All are welcome, if you cannot attend please send your letters and views to "Cinema" , Selsey Town Council.