Woolton Picture House: 'Heartwarming' response reverses closure decision

The owners said the support they had received was "beyond expectation"

Liverpool's oldest surviving cinema is to reopen its doors after receiving "overwhelming" support following its closure announcement.

The owners of Woolton Picture House said in July it would permanently close because of the impact of Covid-19.

However, they have now "looked again" at the "sustainability" of the business and decided "a passion for cinema continues".

The building was initially closed on 18 March by the coronavirus lockdown.

A statement on the cinema's Facebook page said it had been "very heartwarming" to see that the picture house was "held so dear in the hearts and minds of so many".

It said a fundraising page had been set up to support its reopening and it was "truly thrilled" to be announcing an opening date soon.

"The sense of community spirit and your words and actions of support have been beyond expectation and have illustrated very clearly that a passion for cinema continues within our community," it said.

A plaque on the building celebrates it as "the oldest surviving cinema in Liverpool"

The single-screen cinema, which first opened on 26 December 1927, was originally built to host 800 people on wooden benches before more comfortable seating was added in the 1930s and has previously returned from two closures.

Having stayed open during World War Two, surviving the bombing of Liverpool, it was devastated by fire in the summer of 1958, but reopened three months later.

In 2006, the sudden deaths of its chief projectionist and owner in 2006 saw it closed again.

It reopened again in March 2007 and went on to feature in the 2009 John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy.

It also hosted the red carpet premiere of Indian blockbuster Madrasapattinam a year later.