La Charrette

The cinema was originally constructed and run by Gwyn Phillips, an electrician who fell in love with the movies in his youth while working as a projectionist.

A meticulously kept, hand-written record of every film shown at the cinema reveals that the first movie to be screened there in 1953 was Reluctant Heroes.

Made unsafe by the irreparable decay of its wood-and-steel structure, 'La Charrette' was originally expected to close in October 2007 after a screening of Ocean's 13.

However, a visit by film critic Mark Kermode for BBC2's The Culture Show[1] resulted in the tiny venue being given a special send-off in February 2008.

[2] The event consisted of a special premiere screening of the previously unseen Danny Boyle film Alien Love Triangle (2002), starring Kenneth Branagh, Courteney Cox and Heather Graham.