Hello there everyone!
Thanks to the recent great reports here I had to go and make a visit myself, as I had made a mental note when I drove past it a few years ago, but I’m so mental I forgot. It didn’t have the 12ft high boarding around it then, which is just in the way for getting a nice low shot as from behind the fence you are just a bit too near to the building...but there’s a really great shot taken with a fisheye in a report by Strider8173 which really works well.
Back in 1998, which seems much longer ago than it really is, the ex and me borrowed some kids to go and see the Antz movie, it was the second CGI film released after Toy Story, the first film released by DreamWorks...I had to look that bit up so I could find out the year I last saw a film there. I use to go to Robins every now and then when I lived in Woking, even though Woking has a much bigger multi screened complex with more comfortable seats, I really liked the uniqueness of the Art Deco cinema with its 3 small “cosy” screens, blown speakers, cramped seating (that looked great with their plush red velvet) dodgy smelling aromas and carpets that tried to remove the soles of your shoes with its thick layer of chewing gum. But it was my cinema of choice as it has something that all new cinemas lack, character...plus it was much cheaper than anywhere else!
a little history...
It was known locally as the “flea pit” and you either loved or hated it, you would either go out of your way to go to it or go out of your way to go to another cinema. It was designed by the architect Harold Seymour Scott in the typical Art Deco style of its period. During its lifetime it had various refurbishments and many different owners and name changes. It first opened its doors as the Regal in 1932, then the Odeon in 1946, it was renamed the Classic in 1967 after the Classic chain of cinemas bought it, the Cannon Group changed it to, yeah, you guessed it, the Cannon in 1982 (I remember the rivalry between Cannon and Odeon...oooOOOooo it got nasty,
i remember in the mid 80s a mates older brother who worked at a cannon was asked by his supervisor, who weren't much older than him, if he could take a dump on one of the seats in guildfords odeon to give them some grief 
) then finally in 1994 the small independent Robins Cinema chain took over and turned the former cafe into the Sovereign Snooker Hall.
Sadly 2 big fires, one in 2006 and a bigger one in 2009 have destroyed the snooker hall downstairs and made the building too expensive for restoration so it’s slowly being vandalised awaiting demolition...very sad. It took 10 appliances all night to put out the fire. People adjacent to the building had to be evacuated, the local TA provided food for them whilst the council found them accommodation for the night.
A quite freaky coincidence happened on my second visit. When I first went a few weeks ago I hadn’t checked the batteries in my torch so I only took some shots from the outside...there was no way I was gona go in there without any lighting, it was pitch black in the foyer and the entrance is a smallish hole which hardly lets any light in. So on my return trip, with 2 torches!! I stopped off to see a good mate who lives not far from it, and their mate heard me saying about me going there so all 3 of us went. It wasn’t until we were there that my mate’s friend said that it was his younger brother that had burnt the place down 3 years ago! I did feel like hanging him off the roof top upside down dangling him by one foot and do a bit of “by proxy punishment” but shamefully I wasn’t strong enough (so i just pushed him off:icon_evil.) Sadly people are also taking souvenirs, or nicking stuff really, because I couldn’t see some of the bits that had been photographed in other recent reports, which is a shame, I didn’t get to spend as long as I’d like to in there so I shall have to go back before there nothing left!
Now here’s the pics.....
At the back of the cinema the old Odeon sign can still be seen
Inside the foyer, sadly most the bits have been stolen or destroyed
The doors of the ground floor snooker hall. Its vertically pitch black inside with exception of the patch of light from the way in.
It was a bit of a surprise when I saw this photo as I couldn’t see a thing in here. I focused on that small glint of light coming from the boarded up window at the top of the staires and took a 30 sec exposure and filled in the rest with the torch...but I didn’t see the extent of the paint peeling off until I saw the photo, then I didn’t recognise it as I couldn’t see all of this with the torchlight.
The label said these were last tested in 1977
The last few shreds of the silver screen
The projection room...is that an order on the door??
35mm file lying about
One of the smaller film spools with a film can, the larger spools Ive seen in other reports seem to have disappeared im not over reactin
I think this maybe a Fresnel lamp as its got the barn doors, but no glass which would identify it.
View from on the roof...no climbing or dodgy ladders involved, some nice little concrete steps...ah relief!
The London Rd/A30
Thanks for looking folks.....safe exploring!
Thanks to the recent great reports here I had to go and make a visit myself, as I had made a mental note when I drove past it a few years ago, but I’m so mental I forgot
. It didn’t have the 12ft high boarding around it then, which is just in the way for getting a nice low shot as from behind the fence you are just a bit too near to the building...but there’s a really great shot taken with a fisheye in a report by Strider8173 which really works well. Back in 1998, which seems much longer ago than it really is, the ex and me borrowed some kids to go and see the Antz movie, it was the second CGI film released after Toy Story, the first film released by DreamWorks...I had to look that bit up so I could find out the year I last saw a film there. I use to go to Robins every now and then when I lived in Woking, even though Woking has a much bigger multi screened complex with more comfortable seats, I really liked the uniqueness of the Art Deco cinema with its 3 small “cosy” screens, blown speakers, cramped seating (that looked great with their plush red velvet) dodgy smelling aromas and carpets that tried to remove the soles of your shoes with its thick layer of chewing gum. But it was my cinema of choice as it has something that all new cinemas lack, character...plus it was much cheaper than anywhere else!
a little history...
It was known locally as the “flea pit” and you either loved or hated it, you would either go out of your way to go to it or go out of your way to go to another cinema. It was designed by the architect Harold Seymour Scott in the typical Art Deco style of its period. During its lifetime it had various refurbishments and many different owners and name changes. It first opened its doors as the Regal in 1932, then the Odeon in 1946, it was renamed the Classic in 1967 after the Classic chain of cinemas bought it, the Cannon Group changed it to, yeah, you guessed it, the Cannon in 1982 (I remember the rivalry between Cannon and Odeon...oooOOOooo it got nasty,
i remember in the mid 80s a mates older brother who worked at a cannon was asked by his supervisor, who weren't much older than him, if he could take a dump on one of the seats in guildfords odeon to give them some grief ) then finally in 1994 the small independent Robins Cinema chain took over and turned the former cafe into the Sovereign Snooker Hall. Sadly 2 big fires, one in 2006 and a bigger one in 2009 have destroyed the snooker hall downstairs and made the building too expensive for restoration so it’s slowly being vandalised awaiting demolition...very sad. It took 10 appliances all night to put out the fire. People adjacent to the building had to be evacuated, the local TA provided food for them whilst the council found them accommodation for the night.
A quite freaky coincidence happened on my second visit. When I first went a few weeks ago I hadn’t checked the batteries in my torch so I only took some shots from the outside...there was no way I was gona go in there without any lighting, it was pitch black in the foyer and the entrance is a smallish hole which hardly lets any light in. So on my return trip, with 2 torches!! I stopped off to see a good mate who lives not far from it, and their mate heard me saying about me going there so all 3 of us went. It wasn’t until we were there that my mate’s friend said that it was his younger brother that had burnt the place down 3 years ago!
I did feel like hanging him off the roof top upside down dangling him by one foot and do a bit of “by proxy punishment” but shamefully I wasn’t strong enough (so i just pushed him off:icon_evil.) Sadly people are also taking souvenirs, or nicking stuff really, because I couldn’t see some of the bits that had been photographed in other recent reports, which is a shame, I didn’t get to spend as long as I’d like to in there so I shall have to go back before there nothing left! Now here’s the pics.....
At the back of the cinema the old Odeon sign can still be seen
Inside the foyer, sadly most the bits have been stolen or destroyed
The doors of the ground floor snooker hall. Its vertically pitch black inside with exception of the patch of light from the way in.
It was a bit of a surprise when I saw this photo as I couldn’t see a thing in here. I focused on that small glint of light coming from the boarded up window at the top of the staires and took a 30 sec exposure and filled in the rest with the torch...but I didn’t see the extent of the paint peeling off until I saw the photo, then I didn’t recognise it as I couldn’t see all of this with the torchlight.
The label said these were last tested in 1977
The last few shreds of the silver screen
The projection room...is that an order on the door??
35mm file lying about
One of the smaller film spools with a film can, the larger spools Ive seen in other reports seem to have disappeared
im not over reactin
I think this maybe a Fresnel lamp as its got the barn doors, but no glass which would identify it.
View from on the roof...no climbing or dodgy ladders involved, some nice little concrete steps...ah relief!
The London Rd/A30
Thanks for looking folks.....safe exploring!
