Former Embassy Cinema

20-22 High Street, Esher, KT10 9RT

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Overview

Heritage Category:
Listed building
List Entry Number:
1263552
Date first listed:
13-Jun-1991
Statutory Address:
20-22 High Street, Esher, KT10 9RT
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Location

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Date:
2000-07-27
Reference:
IOE01/00981/19
Rights:
© Mr John Sparks. Source: Historic England Archive

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:
Listed building
List Entry Number:
1263552
Date first listed:
13-Jun-1991
Statutory Address 1:
20-22 High Street, Esher, KT10 9RT

Location

Statutory Address:
20-22 High Street, Esher, KT10 9RT

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:
Surrey
District:
Elmbridge (District Authority)
Parish:
Non Civil Parish
National Grid Reference:
TQ 13976 64795

Details

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 29 November 2023 to amend the description and to reformat the text to current standards

TQ 16 SW
5/456

ESHER
HIGH STREET
No 20-22, Former Embassy Cinema

(Formerly listed as Cannon Cinema, previously listed as Embassy Cinema)

II
Cinema. 1936-1937 by John Evelyn Nye for the Shipman and King circuit, forming part of a parade of shops not of special interest. Neo Georgian exterior with modern interior. Brown brick in English bond with artificial stone dressings. Hipped roof covered in asbestos sheeting. Coved stone cornice and panel below with word "EMBASSY". Three tall round-headed windows with keystones and casements with metal bars and central opening lights. Late C20 fascia and five double doors in late C20 aluminium. Original terrazzo steps in black, white, red and buff. Foyer has original fibrous plaster domed lighting. The auditorium retains its circle and stalls undivided (at time of listing), the slates having an unusual double rake designed to save time and expense in the excavation cost. Auditorium decoration by Mollo & Egan. Ante-Proscenium walls are broken up into squares backed by patterned grilles and illuminated from the rear. These grilles serve both as ventilation extract and organ chamber openings.

The main ceiling is split up into squares, above which a fluted bay is illuminated by indirect lighting troughs. Circle walls have modernistic designs representing trees and plants (now covered over). Original domed lighting underneath balcony and cylindrical lighting to circle survives. Two decorative iron grilles in front of proscenium arch.

[see 'THE IDEAL KINEMA' SEPT 9 1937 'EMBASSY ESHER SOUVENIR PROGRAMME' AUGUST 23 1937 "THE PICTURE PALACE" DENNIS SHARP, 1969 CATHEDRALS OF THE MOVIES" DAVID ATWELL, 1980]

Listing NGR: TQ1397664795

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:
287063
Legacy System:
LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Sharp, D, The Picture Palace, (1969)
Atwell, D, Cathedral of the Movies: A History of British Cinemas and their Audiences, (1980)

Other
Embassy Esher Souvenir Programme August 23rd, (1937)

Legal

Ordnance survey map of Former Embassy Cinema

Map

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 05-Jun-2026 at 07:57:22.

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© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. Use of this mapping is subject to Terms and Conditions.

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

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