New Century Cinema, Sittingbourne: a building's history

Former cinema. New Century Cinema belongs to the history of Sittingbourne's High Street. Historic England's archive record reports its final cinema closure in December 2022. A film visit today requires a current operator and a separate programme.

This guide follows the building through its changing uses, explains why an earlier closure date also appears in the record and points to The Light as a distinct present-day option.

Start with the building, then follow its names

Historic England's record accompanies a John Maltby photograph dated January 1937, reference BB87/03357. Its account identifies F. C. Mitchell's design for the Abrahams chain and the cinema's opening under the Odeon name in January 1937.

The same record traces later use as the Vogue Cinema and Vogue Bingo Club, cinema screens operated by Classic in the 1970s, and the New Century name from 2000. Those names describe different periods of one building's story; they do not identify an unchanging layout or a continuous programme.

When using the photograph, keep its date separate from the later history attached to its catalogue entry. The image is evidence of the exterior at a particular time. A description added to the record can discuss events that happened many years afterwards.

Closure dates need their context

The 2009 council report and Historic England record therefore need to be read as dated sources. The earlier report cannot describe events that happened after it was written.

This guide does not fill the intervening years with a guessed reopening date. To reconstruct that interval, look for dated operator notices, programmes, licensing records or local reporting that establishes when film exhibition resumed. Keep each claim attached to its evidence.

What the old cinema can tell a researcher

The surviving record provides a useful starting set: a named photographer, a dated exterior image, a stable archive reference and an account of changing uses. Use those details to ask a precise next question. For example, which part of a later screen arrangement occupied an earlier room, or which name appears in a programme from a particular year?

Different evidence can answer different parts of the question. A plan may identify a layout; a ticket may name a business; an advertisement may date a performance. If an item has no date, describe it as undated until another source supports a narrower range.

Historic England's image record carries its own rights information. Follow the archive's reproduction process before publishing the photograph; the link itself allows readers to examine the record without assuming permission to copy it.

A separate current option: The Light Sittingbourne

The Light gives its address as Bourne Place, St Michaels Road, Sittingbourne, ME10 3JY. Its cinema programme advertised current films when checked on 4 November 2026. It is a separate venue from the High Street cinema discussed above.

Choose the date and performance on the operator's site. For access requirements, use its accessible-cinema information and confirm the local screen, seating and adapted-performance details. A general description of a screening format does not establish that every film or session offers it.

If you are sharing plans with someone who remembers the New Century, include the current venue name and full address in the arrangement. That avoids turning an old cinema reference into directions to the wrong premises.

Explore further

Use our cinema-history research guide to organise dates and evidence, or compare this story with Dreamland Cinema in Margate. For a visit rather than historical research, start with current listings.