Remembering St George’s Cinema in York
Fairfax House opens its doors and remembers the era when this building was a cinema in a special Silver Screen Week to be held in September 2009.
St Georges Cinema
Commissionaire at St George's Cinema
St Georges's Cinema
Fairfax House opens its doors and remembers the era when this building was a cinema in a special Silver Screen Week to be held in September 2009.
From 13th to 20th September to mark the 25th year anniversary since the building opened as a House Museum, Fairfax House will be running a special cinema week and screening old films that were shown when the House when it was run as a cinema. The building was owned between 1921 -1965 by the St George’s Cinema Company and during those years the City of York was awash with cinemas – there were 10 cinema buildings in total in fairly close proximity to each other.
The Silver Screen Week will transport visitors to the House and cinemagoers back in time and re-create a cinema atmosphere complete with a Commissionaire and ice creams!
The week will open with a special gala showing of Buster Keaton’s silent movie ‘The General.’ This will be accompanied by pianist and performer Kieran White who has written a specially commissioned score for this film. The other films scheduled include ‘Young and Heart’ (1954) starring Doris Day and Frank Sinatra and ‘The Wicked Lady’ (1945) starring Margaret Lockwood and James Mason which were recalled with affection by York residents.
Peter Brown, Director at Fairfax House, remembers the story of a young woman who contacted Fairfax House many years ago to tell her sad story of visiting the cinema to see The Wicked Lady but missing the end due to a curfew. He added: “We hope that if she is still in York she might take the opportunity to see the hand dealt to Margaret Lockwood.”
There will also be a showing of the first film to be screened at Fairfax House – ‘Three Men in a Boat’, plus there will be three Yorkshire connected films – ‘This Sporting Life’, ‘Room at the Top’ and ‘Turn of the Tide’.
During normal opening hours, visitors to the House during the Silver Screen Week will get the opportunity to sit and look at footage of film taken in York over the past 100 years, prepared by the York Film Archive. Those interested in the cinema scene in York can visit City Screen York for a special one-off lecture and discussion on the ‘History of Cinemas in York’ where memories, images and memorabilia will be featured on all 11 cinema buildings in York including The Regal in Piccadilly, The Grand in Clarence Street and the Electric Scala in Fossgate.
Fairfax House also hopes to gather peoples’ memories of the cinema days and is asking people to contact them if they have memories and memorabilia of those cinema days. It is planned to collate these into a publication.
Peter Brown, Director at Fairfax House commented: “This is going to be a very special celebration. Since the cinema was closed and dismantled in 1965 there has been no opportunity to show films in the House. We are delighted to be able to offer this opportunity for residents and visitors to reminisce or even see these films for the first time within the magnificent setting of the restored Fairfax House.”
There will morning and evening screenings and the schedule is as follows:
Sun 13 Sept
9.30am Three Men in a Boat
7pm The General (Gala)
Mon 14 Sept
9.30am Young at Heart
Tues 15 Sept
9.30am This Sporting Life
Thurs 17 Sept
9.30am Room at the Top
7pm The Wicked Lady
Fri 18 Sept
9.30am Turn the Tide
Sat 19 Sept
9.30am The Wicked Lady
7pm Three Men in a Boat
Sun 20 Sept
10am *History of Cinemas in York
7pm The General
*This event is from 10am to 12 noon at City Screen, Coney Street, York.
Tickets for the film screenings are £8.50, for the History of Cinemas in York lecture and discussion £12.50 and for The General Gala night £20.00. They are available from Fairfax House on 01904 655543 or by calling into the House in Castlegate, York during opening hours. More details about the Silver Screen Week are also available on the Fairfax House website at www.fairfaxhouse.co.uk
Ends
Press Contacts: Peter Brown
Tel: 01904 654443
Email: peterbrown@fairfaxhouse.co.uk
or
Melanie Paris
Tel: 01904 647408
E mail: hello@melanieparis.com
From 13th to 20th September to mark the 25th year anniversary since the building opened as a House Museum, Fairfax House will be running a special cinema week and screening old films that were shown when the House when it was run as a cinema. The building was owned between 1921 -1965 by the St George’s Cinema Company and during those years the City of York was awash with cinemas – there were 10 cinema buildings in total in fairly close proximity to each other.
The Silver Screen Week will transport visitors to the House and cinemagoers back in time and re-create a cinema atmosphere complete with a Commissionaire and ice creams!
The week will open with a special gala showing of Buster Keaton’s silent movie ‘The General.’ This will be accompanied by pianist and performer Kieran White who has written a specially commissioned score for this film. The other films scheduled include ‘Young and Heart’ (1954) starring Doris Day and Frank Sinatra and ‘The Wicked Lady’ (1945) starring Margaret Lockwood and James Mason which were recalled with affection by York residents.
Peter Brown, Director at Fairfax House, remembers the story of a young woman who contacted Fairfax House many years ago to tell her sad story of visiting the cinema to see The Wicked Lady but missing the end due to a curfew. He added: “We hope that if she is still in York she might take the opportunity to see the hand dealt to Margaret Lockwood.”
There will also be a showing of the first film to be screened at Fairfax House – ‘Three Men in a Boat’, plus there will be three Yorkshire connected films – ‘This Sporting Life’, ‘Room at the Top’ and ‘Turn of the Tide’.
During normal opening hours, visitors to the House during the Silver Screen Week will get the opportunity to sit and look at footage of film taken in York over the past 100 years, prepared by the York Film Archive. Those interested in the cinema scene in York can visit City Screen York for a special one-off lecture and discussion on the ‘History of Cinemas in York’ where memories, images and memorabilia will be featured on all 11 cinema buildings in York including The Regal in Piccadilly, The Grand in Clarence Street and the Electric Scala in Fossgate.
Fairfax House also hopes to gather peoples’ memories of the cinema days and is asking people to contact them if they have memories and memorabilia of those cinema days. It is planned to collate these into a publication.
Peter Brown, Director at Fairfax House commented: “This is going to be a very special celebration. Since the cinema was closed and dismantled in 1965 there has been no opportunity to show films in the House. We are delighted to be able to offer this opportunity for residents and visitors to reminisce or even see these films for the first time within the magnificent setting of the restored Fairfax House.”
There will morning and evening screenings and the schedule is as follows:
Sun 13 Sept
9.30am Three Men in a Boat
7pm The General (Gala)
Mon 14 Sept
9.30am Young at Heart
Tues 15 Sept
9.30am This Sporting Life
Thurs 17 Sept
9.30am Room at the Top
7pm The Wicked Lady
Fri 18 Sept
9.30am Turn the Tide
Sat 19 Sept
9.30am The Wicked Lady
7pm Three Men in a Boat
Sun 20 Sept
10am *History of Cinemas in York
7pm The General
*This event is from 10am to 12 noon at City Screen, Coney Street, York.
Tickets for the film screenings are £8.50, for the History of Cinemas in York lecture and discussion £12.50 and for The General Gala night £20.00. They are available from Fairfax House on 01904 655543 or by calling into the House in Castlegate, York during opening hours. More details about the Silver Screen Week are also available on the Fairfax House website at www.fairfaxhouse.co.uk
Ends
Press Contacts: Peter Brown
Tel: 01904 654443
Email: peterbrown@fairfaxhouse.co.uk
or
Melanie Paris
Tel: 01904 647408
E mail: hello@melanieparis.com