Phoenix Cinema

Its patrons are Benedict Cumberbatch, Maureen Lipman, Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, Michael Palin, Bill Paterson and Mark Kermode.

At this time, the typical programme was silent movies accompanied by live music, plus variety acts such as singers, magicians and comedians.

The alterations of 1938 were a response to competition from 1000 seater "picture palaces" being built by chains such as Odeon, ABC and Gaumont in the surrounding area.

The original 1910 barrel vaulted ceiling was retained, but decorative Art Deco panels were added along the walls.

A projection box was built over the foyer to satisfy the requirements of the Cinematograph Act 1909, with shutters over the windows to the auditorium which could be closed in case of fire.

These alterations together with the improved sight lines from the seating raised the standard of the Rex to meet those of its north London competitors.

The front of the cinema was transformed by architects Howes & Jackman with a move to the sleek lines of 1930s art deco architecture.

Glazed black tiles set against cream plaster and a new canopy stretching across the width of the cinema were accompanied by a neon sign with the new name, The Rex.

The EFNA (East Finchley Neighbourhood Association) produced a petition and an accusatory article, Granada Wrecks the Rex, was published by Keith Lumley resulting in a new owner and a programming policy reversal.

In 1983, a property company applied to Barnet Council for planning permission to build an office block on the site occupied by the cinema.

Following widespread opposition by local residents (with the patronage of Maureen Lipman) the GLC offered a grant to the Trust to purchase the cinema in June 1985.

In 1999 an English Heritage review resulted in some thirty cinemas acquiring listed status in recognition of their historic and architectural importance.

English Heritage recognised the importance of the Phoenix's original 1910 barrel-vaulted ceiling and the 1938 Mollo and Egan decorative wall panels and in 2000 the cinema received a Grade II listing.

This introduced a new café-bar with a balcony, reworked the external signage and foyer, and restored the auditorium's barrel-vaulted ceiling, and Art Deco panels.

featured in a piece directed by Samantha Morton at the Daydreaming with Stanley Kubrick exhibition at Somerset House in London.

The longest film shoot at the cinema so far was for the British comedy Mr Love, made in 1985 starring Barry Jackson.