Bournemouth Community Church

Bournemouth Community Church is a church and community venue based in Moordown, Bournemouth, England. The organisation operates from a distinctive Art Deco building that was originally constructed as the Moderne Cinema in 1935. The building was designed by Edward George de Wilde Holding, an architect associated with cinema projects in Bournemouth during the late 1920s and 1930s. Its architectural character reflects the Moderne or Art Deco style that was widely used for cinemas and other public entertainment venues during that period. The property followed several different uses before becoming a church. In 1970, the former cinema was converted into a bingo hall. That use continued for several decades, but the venue closed in 2008. The building was subsequently adapted for religious and community purposes, becoming a church in 2011. A refurbishment completed in 2013 helped prepare the premises for its later role as both a place of worship and a conference centre. The venue is also known as Lifecentre. In this capacity, it serves more broadly than a conventional church building: it provides space for worship, church gatherings, conferences, meetings and community-oriented activities. Publicly available reference material identifies the building and its changing uses, but does not provide detailed information about the church's denomination, governance structure, membership, finances, senior leadership or wider organisational network. Those details are therefore not asserted here. Bournemouth Community Church is best understood as a local religious and community institution rather than a commercial consumer brand. Its identity is closely tied to the adaptive reuse of a notable Bournemouth building. The site's progression from cinema to bingo hall and then to church illustrates the changing social and cultural functions of public buildings in the town. Its current Lifecentre designation also highlights the building's continued use as a flexible gathering place rather than solely as a traditional worship site.

The building now associated with Bournemouth Community Church originated as the Moderne Cinema in 1935. It was designed by Edward George de Wilde Holding, a specialist cinema architect who worked in Bournemouth from 1927 to 1938. The building's Moderne or Art Deco design reflects the architectural language of interwar cinemas, when streamlined forms and decorative geometric details were used to create visually distinctive entertainment venues. The original cinema function ended when the premises were converted into a bingo hall in 1970. This change represented a shift from cinema exhibition to another form of mass entertainment, while retaining the building's role as a public leisure venue. The bingo hall remained in operation for many years but closed in 2008. Following the closure, the premises underwent another major change of use. The building became a church in 2011, bringing religious and community activity into a former entertainment venue. The conversion preserved the site's continuing importance as a gathering place while adapting its internal and operational arrangements to worship and related events. A refurbishment was completed in 2013. The venue is now used as Bournemouth Community Church and as a conference centre known as Lifecentre. Its history therefore spans three principal phases: cinema, bingo hall and church or community centre. The building's current use demonstrates adaptive reuse in which an older public building is given a new civic and religious role. Available reference material focuses primarily on the building's history and architecture; it does not establish a detailed account of the church's founders, denomination, leadership, membership, finances or formal corporate structure.

• 2013

  Refurbishment completed

  [1]Bournemouth Community Churchen.wikipedia.org

  The church building underwent refurbishment and continued as a church and conference venue.

• 2011

  Building becomes a church

  [1]Bournemouth Community Churchen.wikipedia.org

  The premises were converted for use as Bournemouth Community Church.

• 2008

  Bingo hall closes

  [1]Bournemouth Community Churchen.wikipedia.org

  The bingo-hall use ended when the venue closed.

• 1970

  Conversion to bingo hall

  [1]Bournemouth Community Churchen.wikipedia.org

  The former cinema was converted for use as a bingo hall.

• 1935

  Moderne Cinema opens

  [1]Bournemouth Community Churchen.wikipedia.org

  The building was constructed as the Moderne Cinema in Moordown, Bournemouth, in the Art Deco or Moderne style.

A local church and multipurpose community venue operating from a restored Art Deco building with a history as a cinema and bingo hall.

• Religious services · 2011

  Religious services

  Bournemouth Community Church provides a physical setting for Christian worship and church gatherings. The available reference material confirms the building's use as a church but does not specify service schedules, denomination, liturgy or membership arrangements.

• Conference and community facilities · 2013

  Lifecentre conference and community venue

  Known as Lifecentre, the premises also function as a conference centre and flexible community venue. This role extends the building's use beyond worship to meetings, conferences and other organised gatherings, although detailed booking information and capacity data are not established in the supplied references.

• 2011

  Adaptive reuse as a churchStrategy

  Background

  The former cinema and bingo hall had been vacant since the bingo operation closed in 2008.

  Action taken

  The premises were converted into Bournemouth Community Church, creating a new religious and community use for the building.

  Aftermath

  The building continued as a church and later operated as a conference centre known as Lifecentre.

  Source

1. 1Bournemouth Community Churchen.wikipedia.org