The Rex, Berkhamsted
The Rex auditorium
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| Address | High Street Berkhamsted England, UK |
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| Coordinates | 51°45′32″N 0°33′37″W / 51.758809°N 0.560389°W |
| Owner | Nicholas King Homes plc |
| Designation | listed Grade II |
| Capacity | 350 (originally 1100) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1937 |
| Closed | 1988 |
| Reopened | 2004 |
| Architect | David Evelyn Nye |
| Tenants | |
| James Hannaway | |
| Website | |
| www.therexberkhamsted.com | |
The Rex is a cinema in the town of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. Designed in the art deco style by David Evelyn Nye in 1936, the cinema opened to the public in 1938. After 50 years of service, the cinema closed in 1988 and became derelict. The building was listed Grade II by English Heritage, and following a campaign to save the Rex by a local entrepreneur, the cinema re-opened to the public in 2004.
Today, the cinema is a fully operational independent cinema, screening films 362 days of the year. The programme ranges from vintage classic films to modern blockbusters which often attract large box office queues.
Prior to the development of the Rex Cinema, Egerton House, an Elizabethan mansion had stood on the site for approximately 350 years. Built during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the house was latterly noted for its literary association with J. M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan, through its brief occupancy by the Llewelyn Davies family. Egerton House was demolished in 1937 to make way for the Rex Cinema.
In the 1930s, a cinema was already in operation in Berkhamsted High Street, the Court Cinema on the corner of Water Lane. It was acquired around 1930 by the Shipman & King cinema circuit, who also planned to open a second cinema in the town. Originally they intended to build on a site at the eastern end of town on the corner of Swing Gate Lane, but in 1936 S&K acquired Egerton House, a site closer to the centre of town which had spacious grounds for a cinema and car park. Egerton House was demolished and the Rex Cinema was erected in its place. The cinema was opened on 9 May 1938 by Viscountess Davidson, and the first screening was the film Heidi, starring Shirley Temple.
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