105-106 High Street
Current
105
High Street
Lowestoft
NR32 1XW
United Kingdom
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History
Formerly No. 1 and No. 2 Old Nelson Street. In 1913 it opened as Cosy Corner Cinema. Destroyed by fire in 1960 it was extensively rebuilt and became Tom Watts Furnishings. It was Texas Homecare and then Frank Colby Sports. By April 2019 it was occupied by Emperor Chinese restaurant.
In Lowestoft, Suffolk, on the site of some old cottages, the Cosy Corner Cinema opened on Monday 6th October 1913 with “Wanted”, plus other short comedies and dramas. The Mayor, Councillor F. T. Dewing, officiated. There were 500 seats, in stalls and balcony, and the proscenium was 22ft wide.
The Cosy Corner Cinema Company had opened the cinema. By 1916 it had been acquired by Messrs. Turner and Howard, and by 1921 by Ernest Howard.
It appears to have closed in early-1925, re-opening, after redecoration and refurbishment, on Monday 13th July 1925 with “The Brass Bottle”, starring Harry Myers. Francis Bertram was now the proprietor; two years later, Miss P. J. Urwick took over.
The Cosy Corner Cinema appears to have closed again in 1929. It was acquired by Showall Ltd., of London, Marshall sound was installed and the cinema re-opened, as the Regent Cinema, on Easter Monday, 29th March 1931. The Regent Cinema had 400 seats.
The Regent Cinema closed yet again in early-1936, only to re-open quite quickly, on Easter Monday, 29th March 1936, with “Mutiny on the Bounty”, starring Charles Laughton. zz In common with all other cinemas, the Regent Cinema closed at the outbreak of World War II. However, when all the others re-opened, after just a short period of time, the Regent Cinema did not.
The building was used for storage until being destroyed by fire on 1st September 1960. The rebuilt building has been home to Tom Watts Ltd, and then a Texas Discount Store. By April 2019 it was occupied by Emperor Chinese restaurant. CREDIT:David Simpson
Details of Cosy Corner Cinema 1913 and regent cinema 1931 http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/64604
My Great Grandfather Edgar Hook used to work at the Cosy Corner as a projectionist in the Evening after he finished work during the day on the railway CREDIT: Crispin Hook
Architecture
Nos. 105, 106, 107 & 108 - a single plot with one house in 1614, when it was occupied by Philip Hales (boatwright). By 1633, it was in the hands of Thomas Hawes (boatwright) - remaining with this family into the 18th century. The plot underwent subdivision under the Hawes family and, by 1720, there were four houses on the site - owned by Mrs. Deborah Ashby, who had remarried into the Ashby family of mariners and merchants after the death of her husband Thomas (also a mariner). He made his will in March 1686, but has no burial recorded in the parish registers. Possibly, lost at sea. CREDIT: David Butcher
The Cosy Corner Cinema. DEAN — Apparently it wasn't very cosy was it? IVAN — No it's not even in a corner. [LAUGHTER] And of course again it's got some nice architecture there even down to the little figures over the door, and I'm sure architecturally there's all sorts of fancy names for these windows and embellishments. DEAN — Would that just been a frontage really because because cinemas tended to be a bit ornate didn't they but sometimes they weren't made with the best materials. IVAN — Well it does make you wonder, but because there was a how a double house on the side, I think it might have been totally rebuilt because you see these oriel windows here, they still exist down the sides of the present building. You can see them from Herring Fishery Score. I think probably the the place was really rebuilt but only the ornate front... only the front was ornate, when you look around the back it was the original you can see it's a very very plain straight up and down building and of course that has various guises since the cinema closed and it's now a Chinese restaurant but when you walk into that Chinese restaurant you are basically, I think, in the auditorium of what was the cinema. DEAN — It opened in 1913, and it must have been really exciting to suddenly be able to watch moving pictures and Charlie Chaplin. IVAN — Yep! And as a personal aside my wife's grandmother actually played the piano there for the silent movies. DEAN — Oh wow! Gosh! And it closed in 1929 reopened as The Regent and then didn't reopen after the Second World War. So closed at the beginning of the Second World War. It was basically an empty building for a while and then became a DIY store, didn't it? It became Tom Watts and Texas, then a sports shop, and now it's a Chinese restaurant, so it's had a real mixed life hasn't it of different uses? IVAN — Yep, yep and each time it's changed the frontage is often modified as well. Everybody who takes over and wants to make it look a little bit different and put their brand, their stamp on the building. CREDIT: Ivan Bunn from transcript - Poetry People - High Street Histories
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