The Curzon Cinema in Clevedon, the UK’s oldest cinema, will reopen in the autumn after an allocation of 650,000 euros to its leaky roof.
Contractors have been working since February to paint the project, which will see the 12,000 shingles replaced and structural maintenance performed on the roof.
The paintings are now 75% complete and are expected to be completed until the end of September.
Cinema must reopen in early October, and the main points are being resolved lately.
The lockdown meant, for the first time in its history, that cinema had to close.
The house portrayed, which opened in 1912, remained open even during World War I and World War II.
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An appeal made last year to increase the budget for roof repairs.
Water constantly drips through the ceiling of the auditorium, and staff and volunteers are forced to place buckets around the auditorium to retrieve the drops.
Trustees who simply can’t wait and do maintenance to maintain the long term of the building.
Paintings financed by a variety of sources, with ‘239,000’ from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF)
The additional budget was obtained from the Reaching Communities Lottery Fund, while the budget was also obtained from a number of trusts and foundations.
More than 130,000 euros have been raised through the local network a Call tag to Tile.
An Art on the Tiles initiative, in which artists and names of the film and animation were invited to paint drawings on tiles, also raised another 28,000 euros.
Repair paints began in February and were temporarily stopped in April due to closure and materials and materials.
But the subcontractors came back from mid-May and made a “hell for the leather” to finish the job.
The paintings not only saw all the old tiles removed and replaced by hand, but also carried out primary maintenance on their structure.
The masonry was re-pointed and the chimney was maintained. New skygentles have been installed for the softness and ventilation of the building.
Due to the fragility of the wood-paneled ceiling of the auditorium, some paintings were made through ropes from contractors tied to metal farms.
The custom designed through DHV Architects and the paintings is made through Corbel Construction.
Architect Oliver Forsyth said: “The original shingles are no longer made and reproductions would cost ten times more and there is a year of waiting to manufacture them.
“All the tiles were removed by hand and some that we controlled to keep, some were resold and others were not used at all.
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“In addition to replacing terracotta tiles of the same length and style, many internal maintenance work was also carried out in the attic of the building, because over the years the metal farms had moved.
“We installed braces between the farms and had in the northern component of the roof.
“Many internal measures have been taken for the longevity of the structure.”
About 400 metres of scaffolding has been built around the cinema since paintings began with the team of 12 contractors operating at heights of up to a hundred feet.
Ceiling paints were made in 3 sections, with specialized tarms to protect the ceiling when opened.
When the cinema reopens, a number of measures will be put in place to protect customers.
The number of other people in the auditorium, which can hold up to 320 spectators, will be reduced to 90 in the session.
Curzon Directors president Hilary Neale said: “People have to go back to the movies.
“The most important thing is to make sure that other people feel confident in the area and that they are socially properly distanced.
“All visitors should wear a mask while watching a movie.
“We know it may not be easy, but we plan to make the arrival at Curzon as special and attractive as possible.
“We’ve had it amazing from the local network and we know that when we reopen, that will continue.”
Curzon’s bosses say the next step in the recovery task will be to repair the tin panels on the auditorium ceiling.
Cinema is the only cinema in the UK that has tin panels as a feature.
Ms. Neale said: “It’s an exciting and complicated time.