A Brief History

Built around 1880, 27a High Street used to be the town's Temperance Hall and first became a cinema in 1946 when it was used by a travelling cinema for Thursday night screenings. Ken Prout has kindly given his permission to include excerpts from his publication "The History Of Totnes Cinemas" (available from the Totnes Museum)

Selected Images Courtesy of the Totnes Image Bank

"The Romany Cinema"

Smallest Cinema- Greatest Entertainment. Best remembered of all the cinemas in Totnes was The Romany, opened on June 25th 1951. The owners Kelvin and Grenville White.

The hall was completly refurbished with a new screen, projection box, cashiers box and ladies and Gent's toilets. Tip-up seating purchased from the Paignton's Regent Cinema provided luxury sprung seats in the rear four rows. The new layout slightly reduced the overall capacity from 161 to 146 seats.

There were no stairs in those days, the projection box was reached by climbing a vertical metal ladder, no easy feat when carrying large rolls of film.

Picture goers came in large numbers with Saturday night queues often running along the narrow passageway and under the Butterwalk as far as Harlequin Books, many waiting for anything up to three hours to see such legendary films as Breakfast at Tiffany's; High Noon; and Twelve Angry Men. Another large audience came on Saturday mornings to the children's show, where American Westerns were a favourite, with Roy Rogers Club badges proudly worn by sometimes noisy and excitable audience.

The cinema industry's links with romance, both on and off screen, are legendary. A trip to the pictures has long been a popular 'date', with many picture goers having their own special memories. Curiously, when the fixtures and fittings of the Romany Cinema were finally removed, five wedding rings were found lodged in framework of the tip-up seating - it was the 60's after all. If you are interested in finding out more about the history of cinemas in Totnes please visit the Totnes Museum.