This week marks the 70th anniversary of Gloucester’s iconic Regal cinema, now a Wetherspoons pub, with a special celebration in its main auditorium. The event will take place from noon to 2 pm on Thursday, March 19, in King’s Square.
Special guest Pamela Wright Brogan will attend the celebration. She was 19 when The Regal first opened its doors on March 19, 1956, and was one of the twelve contestants in Gloucester Journal’s Charm Girl contest held at the venue on its opening night.
Ross Campbell, author of two books on the Regal’s rich history and an organizer of the event, reflected on the building’s enduring legacy: “For 70 years, well, actually 87 years if you count from when the building first stood, The Regal has been at the heart of Gloucester city’s entertainment scene. From 1939 to 1955 it was just four walls, until it became the state-of-the-art cinema and theatre we know in 1956. The venue has hosted legends from Tommy Steele and The Beatles to GODS and Sacha Distel. A palace of dreams saved from the wrecking ball by what we now affectionately call ‘Spoons.’ Here’s to the Regal. Now and Forever!”
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The Regal’s construction was a lengthy process. Initially intended for Three Cocks Lane in the lower Westgate area, the project shifted to St Aldate Street in 1939. The original design by William Riddell Glen, architect for Associated British Cinemas (ABC), embraced the lavish Art Deco style. The Second World War interrupted construction, halting progress until 1955. At that time, architect W R Farrow updated Glen’s design, sacrificing three planned shops to expand the cinema’s spacious foyer.
The result was a masterpiece with a Bath stone façade and sweeping, ocean liner-like interior curves, inviting visitors into a world of cinematic wonder.
The Regal officially opened on March 19, 1956, with Gloucester’s mayor, Alderman E J Langdon, in attendance and the ribbon ceremoniously cut by 18-year-old British actress Janette Scott. The first film screened was “Now and Forever,” featuring Scott alongside her mother, Dame Thora Hird, and Hattie Jacques.
The cinema boasted a massive 40-foot-wide screen and a stage 25 feet high, equipped with two projectors and a cutting-edge sound system. It accommodated 1,006 patrons on the ground floor and another 462 premium ticket holders in the circle upstairs. However, the smoking culture of the time often caused the upper circle’s view to be clouded by smoke drifting upwards.
Besides films, The Regal brought live entertainment to Gloucester, hosting stars like Danny La Rue, Tommy Steele, Lonnie Donegan, Norman Wisdom, Peter Brough, Max Bygraves, Billy Cotton, Tony Hancock, Diana Dors, Charlie Drake, Adam Faith, Morecambe and Wise, and notably, The Beatles in 1963—their only performance in Gloucester.
The cinema was the last in the ABC chain to to carry the name “The Regal,” with the ABC prefix added in 1963. A Wimpy Bar introduced an early American-style dining experience inside the cinema in the ’60s, featuring chrome stools, melamine tables, and ketchup served in tomato-shaped squeeze bottles.
In 1974, the ABC Regal was converted into three smaller cinemas, followed by a name change to Cannon in 1987. In 1995, the pub chain Wetherspoons purchased the building and transformed the interior. During renovations, a human jawbone was uncovered beneath the foundations, suggesting the site was once an ancient burial ground.
Thanks to efforts by local reporter Hugh Worsnip, the name ‘The Regal’ was preserved despite early plans to rename the venue, likely to something like ‘The Moon Under The Water.’ Today, The Regal continues to be a cherished landmark in Gloucester’s cultural history, now thriving as a vibrant Wetherspoons pub.