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Broughty Ferry

7 buildings

7 cinemas recorded in the Scottish Cinemas archive.

5 mapped cinemas · View map →
Closed/Repurposed

Grey Street

Picture House

Other names: Reres

View location on Google MapsPicture House / Reres, Broughty FerryScottish Cinemas Archive

Opened c.1918 by A Greig. Sat approx. 500. Sold to Arbroath Cinema Co, c.1930.

Renamed, 1952. Closed c.1962. Now restaurant and launderette.

Archive exterior views below:

Closed/Repurposed

51, Queen Street

Regal

View location on Google MapsRegal, Broughty FerryScottish Cinemas Archive

This building had a complex history, and was quite a remarkable survivor prior to its almost complete demolition in 2023.

Originally opened around 1870 as a drill hall for the First Forfarshire Artillery Volunteers, the entrance was through a symmetrical sandstone gable on Church Street, the most striking feature of which was a large circular window in the centre above the door. The interior at this point was a fairly narrow, tall space, but well decorated, with plain pilasters on the side walls being topped by elaborate gilt Corinthian capitals and lion head bosses. Decorated beams in the ceiling ran from above each pilaster to the matching pilaster opposite, and a foliate cornice and rectangular inlaid panels provided a diagonal transition between wall and ceiling in between the pilasters.

In 1936, the hall was adapted for cinema use as the Regal, by the Arbroath Cinema Company, with capacity for 712 patrons. This involved the creation of a new entrance foyer at the side of the building, on the much more prominent thoroughfare of Queen Street. The main hall was altered to create a balcony and stage with proscenium, but keeping much of the original decoration intact.

New fittings and panels were used where necessary, and two sets of pilasters were partially removed to allow the fitting of the balcony. A new projection box was also added high up onto the west elevation of the building. The original entrance end of the hall was blocked at this time for the creation of the stage and proscenium, with the circular window curiously replaced by concentric wooden slats and a name sign sometime after this.

Many of the 1936 decorative additions, mainly in the new foyer area, came from a recently scrapped White Star ocean liner called the Homeric, which also provided the interior for the Rex cinema in Stonehouse the following year. Of particular interest are the identical two-lamp light fightings, with the White Star logo on each stem, and the diagonal square coffering of the Rex ceiling and the Regal balcony underside.

Bingo was introduced at the Regal on a part-time basis in 1978, later becoming full-time before the building closed in 1991. It was B-listed in 1990, with the listing description added to following Historic Scotland's Cinemas Thematic Study of 2007-08 and the Drill Halls Listing Review of 2015-16.

The auditorium was being used as an overspill car showroom by the 1990s, by which point the 1930s foyer had been removed, and an entrance shutter inserted into the sidewall on the southern gable. The 1936 foyer's patterned floor was not saved in this conversion, but some of the Homeric's mahogany panels which lined it appeared to survive in storage on-site at this point, albeit under several layers of paint. At the time of our photo survey in June 2005, the aforementioned light fittings from the Homeric adorned the side walls, with many even still retaining their cloth shades, as did the elaborate three-lamp fittings with trident backplates - again, presumably salvaged from the Homeric. The proscenium had gold gilt fruit and ribbon motifs to either side, and musical instruments above, whilst larger deco lights still hung from the roof. Some seating also survived in the balcony, and even the stalls rake was intact, despite having to hold cars rather than patrons! Sadly the various light fittings in the Regal, which bore the star of the White Star line, appear to have been removed sometime after our photo survey in 2005 and that of the RCAHMS in 2007.

Cinema archive photograph
Mike Hall

Over the following years, further alterations included the removal of the projection box in 2007 (07/00452/LBC), and removal of the stage and raked floor and the creation of further openings in the southern sidewall in 2008 (08/00098/LBC & 08/00096/FUL). At the time we argued that the building was suffering death by a thousand cuts. Sadly, in the early 2020s, this prediction came true when it transpired that the stresses being exerted on the walls by the roof timbers, especially the southern one which had extra windows inserted into it, were fatal.

The building was subsequently largely demolished in May and June 2023 (22/00616/LBC & 22/00695/FULL) after which only the ground floor elevations of the eastern gable onto Church Street remain. The listing was downgraded from Category B to C in 2022, then delisted completely in 2026.

Cinema archive photograph
Mike Hall

DATABASE RECORDS

Other Broughty Ferry cinemas

These cinemas are recorded in the database but do not yet have a linked photographic page. Do you have a photo or other information? Email us!

NameAddressWhat we know
CapitolChurch Street c. 1935-39. · Demolished
Grand TheatreKing Street Programme: Cine-variety · Building type: purpose-built · Capacity: 1100 · Opened: 1914 · Source: Bioscope Annual 1915 · Coordinates: 56.465678, -2.873189 · Info from EarlyCinema.org.uk
UniversalOther names: UnoLawrence Street c. 1912-15 · Demolished
Uno PicturedromeLawrence Street Programme: Film only · Capacity: 650 · Opened: 1914 · Closed: 1915 · Source: Bioscope Annual 1915 · Coordinates: 56.466669, -2.878408 · Info from EarlyCinema.org.uk

Last updated: 18/8/26 at 17:13 by gbarr