Nothing will ever match the feeling of visiting a classic picture house. The marquee, the smell of the popcorn, the comfy seats.
Whitefield in Bury was once home to a cinema where “kids queued up every Saturday” to see the latest films. The Mayfair still has a firm place in locals’ hearts despite being demolished in the early 2000s.
The Greater Manchester venue, which went on to be particularly popular in the 1990s, first opened in the early 1930s near to the Palace Cinema. Unfortunately, a fire completely destroyed the original Mayfair in 1941, with a replacement being built and opening in 1947.
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The new Mayfair had a long auditorium with a large screen and a balcony that was mainly positioned over the foyer area. Unlike other classic Manchester cinemas, the Mayfair underwent a large renovation in the 1980s to turn it into a two-screen complex.
Its interior was completely changed, with a wall being built to split it in two and the walls rounded off to make it an oval shape. The new layout, which was said to have been better than the original, created the ‘Mayfair Minor’ and ‘Mayfair Major’.
While the Minor was located at the end of the building where the original screen was, the Major used the rear stalls and existing balcony with a new screen to create the two-screen cinema. In 1992, Apollo Leisure took over the complex, with both venues closing shortly after.
The Mayfair Minor became an Indian restaurant and the Mayfair Major a children’s nursery. In 2003, however, what remained of the Mayfair cinema building was demolished.
The MEN recently wrote an article about Manchester’s classic cinemas, with one reader sharing their memories of Whitefield’s Mayfair in the comments section. They wrote: “Kids queued up every Saturday morning for the matinee to watch all of those bad films - Batman, Flash Gordon, Roy Rogers, and all the other rubbish!
“[The cinema] was great. It was the only media we had in the 1950s. Then when you were a bit older, you’d take your girl to see the latest films on a Friday night. A more simple time, but I loved it.”
The MEN shared a photo of the Mayfair cinema in our Greater Manchester history, memories and people Facebook page. Sheila commented: “I used to go there Saturday afternoons. It was the highlight of the week. One shilling bought me bus fare there and back, a ticket in, and goodies to watch the film.”
June said: “My mum worked there. I used to go a lot and loved it. Great memories.” Daniel said: “I went to the Mayfair in the early 1990s. I used to get off at Besses and walk up to it.”
Did you ever go to the Mayfair cinema in Whitefield? Share your memories in the comments section below.
Join our Greater Manchester history, memories and people Facebook group here.
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