THE TEMP CINEMA in Church
Street.
The Temp was the
cinema where I saw my very first film, at the age of seven or so. I even
remember the film: "Things to Come" featuring our own lad made
good, Sir Cedric Hardwicke. It was a real flea-pit of a cinema. After it
closed in the early sixties the place remained derelict for some time, but
when they pulled down all that area of The Lye for redevelopment (damn their
eyes) it turned out that the Trustees of the Temperance Hall still existed
and still owned the building. What's more there was a covenant on the land
that prevented it being used for a pub or anything of that sort and there
was quite a lot of legal hassle before the restrictions could be lifted.
I had a last look round the building a few months before it was demolished,
and everything was still there, including the projection equipment in that
little box of a room built out over the street. It was all rusted solid.
And behind the stage curtains that the cinema screen was hung in front of,
there was still an old piano, which I assume was the one they used to accompany
the silent films, years ago.
© Darroll Pardoe 1991
BACK to Lye Main
September 3rd 1999