Cannon Hinckley

Cannon Hinckley refers to the Hinckley, England cinema that traded under the Cannon name from August 1973 until its permanent closure in May 1993. The building, an Art-Deco former cinema and sports bar on Trinity Lane, originally opened in 1937 as the Danilo Cinema, part of Mortimer Dent's "Danilo" cinema chain. It was designed by Birmingham-based cinema architect Ernest S. Roberts and built by G. E. & W. Wincott on the site of a former hosiery factory. Over its lifetime the venue changed names and uses several times: Danilo (1937–1970), Essoldo (1970–1972), Classic (1973), Cannon (1973–1993), and finally the independent sports bar All Bar Sports (1998–2004). After 2004 the building remained unused and derelict. In 2016 a proposal to demolish it and build retail space and flats was put on hold and not proceeded with. In April 2023 the building was purchased by an Oadby-based real estate firm for £350,000, and later that year plans were registered to convert it into 36 one-bedroom apartments over four floors.

The building that would become Cannon Hinckley opened on 26 July 1937 as the Danilo Cinema, built on a former hosiery factory site on Trinity Lane, near Hollycroft, in Hinckley. It was designed by Birmingham-based cinema architect Ernest S. Roberts and formed part of Mortimer Dent's "Danilo" cinema chain, which had other sites in Brierley Hill, Redditch, Cannock, Longbridge, Stoke-on-Trent, and Stourbridge. The main contractors were G. E. & W. Wincott, who were simultaneously building The Ritz Cinema in Nuneaton; a 'race' was held to see which would open first, and The Ritz won, opening on 23 July 1937. The Danilo opened three days later, declared open by Australian-born British stage and screen actress Judy Kelly alongside Mr. Knowles Edge, son of Bosworth's Member of Parliament Sir William Edge, who was indisposed. The Danilo operated until 1970, when it was taken on under new ownership for the first time since opening and relaunched as The Essoldo. It traded as The Essoldo until 1972. In 1973 it was bought by Classic Cinemas and renamed again. In August 1973 it reopened as a Cannon Cinema after renovation works that made it a three-screen cinema. It traded under "The Cannon" name for 21 years until May 1993, when it permanently closed, leaving the town without a functioning cinema. A campaign to reopen the building began a year later but ultimately failed. In 1998 the building reopened with a new use as an independent sports bar named All Bar Sports. This proved to be its last use; it permanently closed in 2004 and has not been used since. In June 2016, developers from The Space Studio, acting for then-owners APV Leisure Limited, proposed demolishing the derelict building and building ground-floor retail space, 29 flats, and 18 car parking spaces. The plans were put on hold on the advice of council planning officers and met with negative local reception and a petition; the application was not proceeded with. In April 2023 the building was purchased by an Oadby-based real estate firm for £350,000. Eight months later, new plans were registered to transform the building into 36 one-bedroom apartments over four floors, with 17 car parking spaces and 36 cycle storage spaces.

• 2023

  April: purchased by an Oadby-based real estate firm for £350,000; later plans registered for 36 one-bedroom apartments.

• 2016

  June: demolition and redevelopment proposal by The Space Studio put on hold and not proceeded with.

• 2004

  All Bar Sports permanently closes; building unused thereafter.

• 1998

  Reopens as independent sports bar All Bar Sports.

• 1994

  A campaign to reopen the building begins but ultimately fails.

• 1993

  Permanently closes in May while trading as The Cannon.

• 1973

  Bought by Classic Cinemas and renamed; reopens in August as a three-screen Cannon Cinema.

• 1972

  Ceases trading as The Essoldo.

• 1970

  Taken on under new ownership and relaunched as The Essoldo.

• 1937

  Danilo Cinema opens on 26 July, declared open by actress Judy Kelly.

A local town cinema that passed through several regional and national cinema chains before closing and later being reused as a sports bar.

• Cinema screenings

  Film screenings as a single-screen then three-screen cinema.

• Sports bar services

  Operated as an independent sports bar under the name All Bar Sports from 1998 to 2004.

1. 1Cannon Hinckley - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Danilo Cinema, Hinckley - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org