Plaza Cinema

In 1911, fire demolished a guest house named 'Ivydene', located next to the 'Malthouse' in Amesbury. The thatched cottage and adjacent 'Malthouse' were burned to the ground and the site left in ruins. 

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The early 1900's saw the famous 'Chipperfield's Travelling Circus' using the site over the next few years, setting up their big top and parking the steam wagons in the yard of the former buildings. The circus first introduced moving pictures to Amesbury's public, with short films shown on a steam-powered projector inside the big top. Films would be accompanied by acrobats and musicians.

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By 1913, silent movies were becoming popular prompting the need for a more permanent arrangement and to house the projection box and seating. 

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In 1915 Canadian troops stationed on Salisbury Plain built a log cabin on the site, grandly calling it 'The Cinema'. 

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Every night there was a show at 7pm (2pm and 5pm Saturdays and Sundays).

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The popularity of the cinema became such that a brick building was commissioned, and the 'Plaza Cinema' with its striking Art Deco style facade was built in 1935.

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In 1956, the cinema hosted its own 21st Birthday celebrations. The souvenir programme suggested that five and a half million people had been to see 6,552 feature films plus newsreels and short films since the Plaza opened.

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In 1988 the Plaza Cinema closed and was demolished in 1993 to make way for the St Melor surgery.