On Monday 12 May 2025, Woolton Cinema CIC exchanged contracts for the purchase of the Woolton Picture House on Mason Street.

We then have until 8 May 2026 to raise the funds to complete the purchase.

Money has been raised in the past to support the cinema and people’s doubt about donating their time and money to this fresh initiative is understandable.

The support that we have received since we started the campaign has given us the confidence that Woolton Village wants their Picture House back. We still need to raise £700,000 but we have decided to purchase the building for the community if we hit £450,000 by 8 May and then continue to fundraise for the refurbishment after that.

Thank you to everyone who has supported this campaign and donated so far. We need to keep up this momentum to reach the target in time and complete the purchase of the cinema so we can secure Woolton Picture House for the community.

DOWNLOAD OUR MORE DETAILED PLANS HERE

Fundraising

Now we have the keys to the building and our ambitions are public, we can begin the raising of funds. Gillian has an impressive record of raising public funds having been a fundraiser at The Tate, The Philharmonic and currently leading the team at the Royal Court Theatre. There she is supported by James Hernandez, a freelance fundraising consultant and Joe Morris, part of the theatre’s executive team.

We have launched a fundraising campaign and these funds will not be spent until we have achieved our target. If we fail to raise the full funds all donations will be returned to donors.

Find out more about how you can contribute on our donations page.

Donate here

Public Consultation

We want as many people as possible to become involved in this project. Woolton Cinema is only going to reopen and then stay open if it has the real support of the community.

We have held a number of community update meetings in the cinema and hopefully those who attended have been won over by its magic, its potential and our plans.

Plaque commemorating the Picture House, the oldest surviving cinema in Liverpool, opened on December 26, 1927, in association with the British Film Institute.
View of the auditorium seating from the projection window. Rows of empty seats in front of closed curtains.
Old industrial coffee roaster in a room with blue and orange brick walls, with electrical equipment and a large blue tarp covering part of the scene.
A large metal wheel with six holes, attached to a metal shaft, inside an old, dusty workshop with mechanical and electrical tools around.
View of a small cinema ticket booth with a wooden counter, cash register, and a small display refrigerator, surrounded by popcorn and soda advertisements.
A welcome sign for Woolton Picture House, established in 1927, with a bulletin board below advertising the Dicks Sound Theatre features.
A framed sign with general information printed on an aged, distressed paper, indicating schedules for Sundays, weekdays, and Saturday matinees, with additional notes about school holiday matinees and programming.
Large, old red auditorium doors closed inside the cinema foyer. A selection of old framed photographs adorn the walls.
Rows of empty orange upholstered cinema seats inside the old auditorium.