Royalty Harborne
We are delighted to have been commissioned by the Harborne Royalty Trust to prepare a Heritage Statement for the Royalty Harborne. The document is the first stage in the planning process for assessing the pre-application scheme prepared by Paul Miller of Miller Kendrick on behalf of the Trust. Following a preapplication advice request to Birmingham City Council, senior planners have confirmed in principle their support for a scheme to restore the Cinema.
As access was not possible into the building, our research draws heavily upon the building record produced by Thames Valley Archaeology in combination with the extensive archive of photographs collected by the Harborne Royalty Trust, the local collection in the Harborne Library, and online footage which confirmed the quality of many of the early art Deco Interiors. Despite the fire, adequate information remains to reinstate the building.
Our visual assessment and interrogation of the local planning policy confirmed that the biggest challenges were:
The extent of enabling development around the listed building that would be accepted by the council.
The extent of possible demolition of the listed building.
Head of planning, Andrew Fuller confirmed that Birmingham City Council will be supportive of the side extension on the basis of the community uses it will bring. The extension might provide development which helps fund the community uses or alternatively providing supporting facilities.
Birmingham City Council stated they do not have the resources to enforce a scheme of repair, and as a result are looking for a compromise solution to bring the building into use. Historic England have confirmed that they will not support the demolition of the listed building owing to its significance, and in our view it is highly unlikely that substantial demolition of the Cinema will be possible. In order to confirm this, a viability options appraisal is required to test the amount of alteration required to make the Royalty commercially viable once more. The Harborne Royalty Trust in parallel with the owner are completing their own viability study supported by the Architectural Heritage Fund.
History
The Royalty is an important community asset that local residents visited regularly with other members of the local community. The building had continued use for nearly 80 years, as a cinema for 30 years and 50 years as a bingo hall until 2012. Despite its run down appearance, and three recent fires, the Royalty remains a much loved building. The theatre was designed by Mr. Horace G. Bradley, of 10A Temple Row, Birmingham. Horace G Bradley, made his name as a cinema architect during the boom in British cinema and his works include many cinemas in the Birmingham area.
The Royalty is a rare example of a surviving cinema of this period. Despite the fire which has destroyed the roof and interior of the auditorium, the external fabric and secondary key decorative interiors such as the circulation spaces and the main foyers on each floor are likely to survive intact and with only minor alteration especially considering its long use as a bingo hall. The Royalty is a landmark building and serves as a reminder of a period of boom in Harborne’s development following incorporation with the borough of Birmingham. The Royalty - followed two new public parks and several new public houses - a symbol of the social and economic development of Harborne in the early twentieth century. The Royalty was one of two cinemas, distinguished from The Picture House owing to its regal, resplendent design - an architectural spectacle. A visit to the Royalty was as much part of the experience as seeing the film itself.
The contemporary art deco style became a metaphor for the vitality and success of the British film industry across the country. The construction of new cinemas a result of the investment made in new buildings as a result of the Cinematograph Act of 1927 in support of British film making. The Royalty is a reminder of this high point in British cinema and serves as a reminder of the importance in film and entertainment at the start of the 20th century.
james mackintosh architects limited
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