Site of 1930s cinema, Embassy Cinema, High Street (EHER 82036)

Now destroyed. The site of the Art Deco Embassy Cinema, later called Studio One, which opened in March 1936. It operated as a cinema until 1982 when it closed and became a bingo hall until 1985 when it was demolished.

The Embassy Cinema opened in March 1936 and was built in Art Deco style, on the site of a grand 16th century house called The Trees. It could hold 1,250 people and had a café for patrons, along with a Wurlitzer organ, which featured an illuminated console. Following a takeover by the Star Cinemas chain, the Embassy was renamed Studio One in 1967. As well as being a popular local cinema, the building was also a theatre. When needed, the cinema screen could roll-up to reveal a stage behind, and there were dressing rooms backstage. The Embassy Cinema - or Studio One, as it was then called – closed its doors for good in August 1982. The famous Wurlitzer was taken to a residence in Capel St Mary, near Ipswich. Not much else is known about its whereabouts. Meanwhile, Studio One became a bingo hall, known as STAR Bingo, for a period. After a couple of years standing empty, the building was sadly demolished in 1985. Today, Embassy Court, a retirement housing complex, stands in its place. <1>