Assembly Rooms, Crompton Road,, Ambleside

AMBLESIDE —Accepted for the erection of a large room, drill hall, caretaker's house. etc, for the Directors of the New Assembly Rooms. Mr. Robert Walker, architect, Windermere : Arthur Jackson, Ambleside £1,909 16s 0d. [Builder 29 April 1893 page 333]

Converted into a cinema in 1907, it has undergone several changes of name and ownership. It was Listed in the 1937 edition of Kinematograph Yearbook as the 430 seat capacity; Cinema Assembly Rooms In the mid-1940’s to mid-1960’s it was known simply as “The Cinema,” with 400 seats, and in 1980 it was known as the Cinema & Arts Centre with a seating capacity of 350. By 1990 it had become Zeffirellis Cinema with a seating capacity of 180. In recent years the cinema has been twinned, with seating capacities in the screens for 98 and 63 and also boasts a restaurant. The cinema is now equipped with digital projection equipment.

Reference           Builder 29 April 1893 page 333 - tenders