founded 1990 founder geoff greaves number of locations 15 cinemas 2016 area served southern england northern scotland north east wales north east england key people geoff greaves website http www.merlincinemas.co.uk merlin cinemas are a british cinema chain with head office based in england . they were formed in 1990 and predominantly operate in small coastal towns . in many cases the cinemas operated were saved from closure and run on very small margins but they are supported by some of the larger ones in the group that have been extensively refurbished and modernised to include luxury screens with waiter service plus licensed bars restaurants and live theatre . mainly merlin cinemas operate in traditional cinema buildings rather than new builds . they operate the most southerly cinema in britain at penzance and the most northerly at thurso . contents 1 locations 2 regal cinema 2.1 building 3 references 4 external links locations edit they operate cinemas in 1 coleford studio cinema 2 screens cromer regal movieplex 4 screens falmouth phoenix cinema 5 screens and restaurant helston flora cinema 2 screens ilfracombe embassy cinema 3 screens kingsbridge kings cinema 3 screens okehampton new carlton 2 screens penzance savoy cinema 3 screens and restaurant penzance ritz cinema live venue and bar currently not operating within merlin prestatyn scala cinema 2 screens bar and caf redruth regal cinema 6 screens live theatre and restaurant st ives royal cinema 3 screens tiverton tivoli cinema 1 screen thurso caithness merlin cinema 2 screens and restaurant torquay central cinema 4 screens regal cinema edit the regal cinema in redruth merlin cinemas flagship venue is regal in redruth cornwall england in the united kingdom . the cinema opened on 2 december 1935 with seating for 982 on a semi stadium plan . it was opened by mr prance as part of sound & movement cinemas . the original sound system was by british thomson houston . in the 1960s the cinema was equipped with cinemascope and stereophonic sound . when the cornwall circuit group of cinemas were taken over by the rank group the cinema was later sold off to independent vivian bartle and in 1983 the former caf area was converted into an 80 seat screen 2 . the auditorium was tripled in 1986 with seating for 600 front area screen 3 and 172 screen 2 & 121 screen 1 in the rear areas . it was taken over by merlin cinemas on 24 july 1998 . in august 2008 the exterior of the building was fully refurbished including a new roof with walls re rendered and painted in blue with red stripes merlin cinemas colour scheme . april 2011 saw another phase of redevelopment at the regal with two screens going digital screen 7 a licensed auditorium with leather arm chairs and screen 3 boasting dolby 3d . during 2012 13 the main auditorium already the largest screen and auditorium in cornwall was subject to a 1.5 million transformation . capacity increased to 650 and includes circle stalls and box seats . to increase the number of screens from 4 to 6 the auditorium was partitioned and two screens were placed underneath the circle . this was in addition to other work taken out on the other screens . all six screens were officially opened on 21 july 2013 . 2 all 6 screens are licensed for alcohol consumption . 3 building edit the exterior is a fine 1930s art deco design complete with tower and cinema name placed between horizontal strips . it was completely refurbished with new neon signage and outdoor under pavement blue led lighting during october and november 2007 . the windows have been blocked in for the screen in the former caf but the whole fa ade is still striking . above the main entrance is screen 7 which opened in 2006 . this is accessed by a circular staircase from the bar and restaurant next door and not through the main cinema entrance . in addition screen 7 is also unusual in having a licence waiter service and double sofa style seating and tables . in the main foyer which is circular in shape the low ceiling commands you to observe the art deco design at the centre of the floor . the plans were drawn up by an australian architect called mr smith working for the watkins partnership in bristol . the most striking feature is the fin structure to the left of the frontage that spreads upwards into the air above the cinema . the size of this fin runs about 23 feet into the building about the depth of the foyer . originally there was a glass lit central feature rising the full height and according to the plan had the words cinema & caf detailed into it . this feature today has been boxed over . inside the foyer executes a visual trick . the auditorium is set at a different angle to the fa ade by roughly 25 degrees . by creating a circular foyer the architect has disguised this fact as without obvious side and back walls the patrons were unlikely to notice the change in direction . from the foyer were doors to a small lounge off to the left originally they had gold coloured rattan chairs and glass topped rattan tables and stairs to the caf above the foyer . light gained entry to the caf by the large windows running across the frontage the kitchen was placed under the large fin structure with a single window beyond the fin . from the foyer are steps down to the vestibule where a cloakroom and toilets were available before entering the fan shaped auditorium . there was a front stalls entrance and foyer set to the left of the stage . the stage had an orchestra pit and 35 wide proscenium . the projection box was placed above the raised area of seating . it has also been reported that a colour lit fountain was contained in the building probably within the caf . the walls of the cafe had drawings of deer and a young couple skating . the auditorium is quite plain with leaves painted on the side walls . references edit http www.merlincinemas.co.uk http www.westbriton.co.uk biggest cinema cornwall opens redruth story 19513488 detail story.html merlin cinemas . redruth.merlincinemas.co.uk . retrieved 2016 03 19 . external links edit merlin cinemas v t e major cinema chains in the united kingdom amc cineworld curzon empire everyman merlin odeon picturehouse reel scott showcase vue retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title merlin cinemas & oldid 726209213 categories cinema chains in the united kingdombuildings and structures in cornwallcinemas in cornwall navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 20 june 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