A community group has thanked the owners of Burnham-On-Sea’s Ritz Cinema for their work in keeping the facility running as it marks its 80th anniversary this year.
Burnham Socialites have presented the cinema’s owners, Pat and Beryl Scott, with a special cake to mark the milestone.
The cinema in Victoria Street, which has three screens, originally opened in 1936.
Fay Donnellan, from Burnham Socialites, said: “We wanted to thank both Pat and Beryl for their work in running the cinema during such an important year.”
“The cinema is a really important and much-loved part of our community.”
The building has been used as a cinema since 1936 when it had more than 500 seats, however due to dwindling visitor numbers it was forced to close in 2002.
Pat and Beryl spent more than £120,000 renovating the building after they took on the building. They re-opened the cinema on September 17th 2004 with two new large screens, state-of-the-art projectors plus air conditioning and seating for up to 230 people.
Since then, the facility has become a well-used, thriving part of Burnham’s social life. Its third screen opened for the first time last October.
ALSO SEE:
Burnham-On-Sea cinema memorabilia from the 1936 opening
