135 - Inside the Carlton Cinema with historian Nigel Smith

Cinema historian Nigel Smith joins Jamie to explore the hidden history of London’s picture houses. In particular the Egyptian-style Carlton in Islington. Nigel brings these spaces back to life through stories, archives, and first-hand recollections. In this episode, Nigel and Jamie discuss: How London’s old cinemas became coffee shops, bingo halls, and churches The difference between “going to the pictures” in the 1930s–50s and cinema-going today How local archives, trade papers, and oral histories help piece together forgotten stories Why repertory and community cinemas may hold the key to the future of film-going Nigel’s Memory Palaces project, documenting almost 100 cinema buildings with photos and stories Find more from Nigel: memorypalaces.co.uk and Instagram @nigelsmithwalks. This podcast is completely independent and made possible by listener support. If you’d like to help me keep making these episodes, you can join my Patreon community here: Watch more on YouTube: Check out the Filmumentaries YouTube channel for behind-the-scenes clips and extra content: All my links

You can listen to 135 - Inside the Carlton Cinema with historian Nigel Smith online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

135 - Inside the Carlton Cinema with historian Nigel Smith is an episode from The Filmumentaries Podcast by Jamie Benning.

This episode is 36:23 long.

This episode was published on Sep 23, 2025.

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