engineering

Regal Cinema, Wells

Regal Cinema, Wells is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Regal Cinema, Wells rather than just read about it. In short: The Regal Cinema is a former cinema in Wells, Somerset, England. Built in Art Deco style, it opened in 1935 and screened its last film in 1993.

Key takeaways

Regal Cinema, Wells belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Regal Cinema, Wells to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Regal Cinema, Wells from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Regal Cinema is a former cinema in Wells, Somerset, England. Built in Art Deco style, it opened in 1935 and screened its last film in 1993. The cinema was used as the Kudos nightclub from 2005 to 2024, and reopened as the music venue Studio24 in 2024. It has been a Grade II listed building since 1991.

History In 1934, Arthur H. Taylor proposed a new cinema for Wells to be built on a site on the corner of Princes and Priory Roads. The city already had a cinema, the Palace Theatre, but this was considered by the applicant to fail to meet the latest standards in design, comfort, and regulations. The plans for the new cinema were drawn up by the Wells architect and surveyor Reginald O. Stiles. Although Wells City Council approved the scheme, the Wells Magistrates refused to grant a licence for the new cinema. The scheme was then picked up by Austen A. Pilkington, who already owned cinemas in Shepton Mallet and Devizes. He proposed using the same site and the same designs by Stiles, but with some amendments made by the Birmingham architect Ernest S. Roberts. Pilkington was granted permission to build the cinema by Wells City Council in March 1935 and Wells Magistrates approved a licence in April 1935. Construction of the cinema was carried out in 1935, with the main contractor being W. E. Chivers and Sons of Devizes. The cinema was opened by Lieutenant-Colonel A. J. Muirhead on 12 November 1935. The first film to be shown was the American historical biographical Clive of India. The cinema had an original capacity of 588, with 426 seats in the auditorium and 162 in the balcony. It was also designed to be able to hold stage plays and had dressing rooms for such a purpose. The cinema was taken over by the Birmingham-based Clifton Circuit in 1938. From 1976, the Regal also held bingo sessions as film attendance figures were not enough to cover its expenses.

Redevelopment plans and closure of cinema (1990–1993) In 1990, the owners, Somarea Promotions Ltd, were granted outline planning permission to convert the building into a mixed leisure complex, including a 180-seat cinema, a smaller 30-seat studio cinema for "less popular films", a nightclub/disco hall, shopping arcade and restaurant. In 1991, they proposed demolishing the cinema to make way for a petrol station, but this application was withdrawn in January 1992. Neither scheme came to fruition after the Regal was designated a Grade II listed building in December 1991. In 1992, disagreements emerged between Somarea Promotions Ltd and Regal manager and operator Derek Cooper over the £5,500 that Cooper owed in rent. It resulted in Cooper being given a month's notice to quit and he responded by securing a lease from Mendip District Council for the former Boys' Club building next door and establishing the 150-seat Wells Film Centre there. Les Tracey, one of the three businessmen forming Somarea Promotions, then took over the running of the cinema himself. The Regal showed its last film, Beauty and the Beast, on 6 January 1993. Its closure as a cinema was blamed on the rising popularity of home entertainment, the general recession of the time, and the new competition from the Wells Film Centre.

Post cinema use (1993–) After its closure as a cinema in 1993, the Regal continued to be briefly used three times a week as a bingo hall. In 1993, Somarea Promotions proposed transforming it into a nightclub, but Mendip District Council would only grant limited hours with the public entertainment licence, which the owners claimed made it economically unviable. Another proposal to transform it into a nightclub and cabaret club was rejected by Mendip District Council in 1995. In 1995, the Regal was one of three sites being considered by Mendip District Council as a possible new home for the Wells Film Centre if Tesco's plans for a petrol filling station went ahead, which would have involved the demolition of the centre's existing premises for access purposes. By 1996, Tesco had made an offer to buy the centre and Mendip District Council hoped that the money raised would allow them to buy the Regal. The proposed petrol scheme did not come to fruition. In 1997, Somarea Promotions proposed transforming the building into a children's activity centre with a film-theme restaurant, then they suggested another scheme in 1998 for the creation of a health club, which would involve constructing a steel-framed structure within the auditorium. In 2004, the former cinema was converted into the multi-level nightclub Kudos, with work including an external and internal restoration. The nightclub closed after holding a New Year's Eve party on 31 December 2023–1 January 2024. On 28 March 2024, the building was reopened as Studio24, a live music and events venue. A £110,000 revamp included the installation of a new dance floor, a new bar, and new acoustics and lighting systems.

Architecture The Regal Cinema is built of red brick, with dressings and copings in local stone, over a steel frame. In their 1991 assessment, Historic England described the cinema as "particularly notable for the rare survival of its original colouring, decoration, seating and fittings".

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Regal Cinema, Wells

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Regal Cinema, Wells claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Regal Cinema, Wells before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Regal Cinema, Wells ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Regal Cinema, Wells

In research: Regal Cinema, Wells appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Regal Cinema, Wells in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Regal Cinema, Wells is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Art Deco architecture in England, Buildings and structures completed in 1935, Former cinemas in England, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Regal Cinema, Wells outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Regal Cinema, Wells in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Regal Cinema, Wells means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Regal Cinema, Wells out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Regal Cinema, Wells in simple terms?

The Regal Cinema is a former cinema in Wells, Somerset, England. Built in Art Deco style, it opened in 1935 and screened its last film in 1993.

Why does Regal Cinema, Wells matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Regal Cinema, Wells?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Regal Cinema, Wells.