Fabulous vintage view showcases long gone Art Deco village cinema 

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This fabulous vintage view shows the splendid Art Deco cinema which once graced the village of Oadby.

Located In London Road, the Oadby opened in 1937.

It was operated by George and Milford Cockroft, who also owned the Fosse cinema in Leicester, the Lawn in Birstall and the Magna in Wigston.

It closed after 44 years in 1981 and the building was taken over by funeral directors, which had been operating from a neighbouring property.

One of the advertising boards on the cinema has a poster for the gangster movie, City That Never Sleeps, which was released in 1953.

The photograph was originally sent in by reader Robert Kemp, who believes it must have been taken from the plinth of the war memorial, on the corner of Wigston Road.

Opposite the old cinema was a row of shops which included a sweet shop run by a Mr Tunnicliffe.

When the photo was originally published, it prompted a response from reader Alan Torr, who was a projectionist at the cinema.

He said: “During the day, I worked in Leicester’s High Street, finishing at 6pm. My bus to Oadby, a Midland Red 639 to Fleckney, left Northampton Square at 6.07pm.

“This necessitated a mad dash across town on foot, often overtaking the bus while it was held up in the traffic, before it got to the stop at London Road Station.

“When we reached Oadby and the bus stop which can be seen in the photo, Stan Potter – a lovely man who started the cinema’s evening entertainment at 5.55pm – and I swapped places.

“When the bus arrived, I had to dither and delay alighting passengers on the platform of the bus while Stan ran down the projection room stairs and across the road.

“Once he was safely aboard, I ran the other way to take over running the show.

“This pantomime caused many a confrontation with other travellers and uninitiated bus conductors, which was usually terminated by handing over my weekly complimentary cinema ticket.”

Source: Fabulous vintage view showcases long gone Art Deco village cinema – Leicestershire Live