The Regal, Cambridge
The Regal is a J D Wetherspoon pub on St Andrew's Street in the ground floors of a 1937 Art Deco cinema. When it opened in 1999 it was the largest pub in the UK, and the Arts Picturehouse still shows films on the floors above, so the building is partly a cinema to this day.
Photos
Darren Benson
From picture palace to pub
The Regal opened as a cinema for Associated British Cinemas in April 1937, on a site cleared after a fire destroyed the old Castle Hotel. Designed by John S. Quilter and Son, it is one of Cambridge's best Art Deco buildings. It hosted live shows as well as films, was split into two screens in 1971 and closed as an ABC cinema in 1997.
The pub today
Wetherspoon bought the building in 1997 and turned the ground floors into a vast pub, the biggest in the country when it opened. Expect the chain's usual format, with low prices, cask ales and food served all day, in a room that is far larger than most city-centre pubs.
Why stop here
It is a practical meeting point in central Cambridge, a short walk from Christ's Pieces and the Grand Arcade. Cambridge Tap is next door for craft beer, and the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences on Downing Street is a few minutes away for a free hour among fossils and minerals. If you are seeing a film at the Arts Picturehouse upstairs, it is the obvious place for a drink before the screening.
Highlights
- 1937 Art Deco former Regal cinema
- Largest pub in the UK when it opened in 1999
- Arts Picturehouse cinema still operates upstairs
- Central location on St Andrew's Street
Good to know
- Large, busy pub that fills up on match days and weekends
- Chain pricing and all-day food
Frequently asked questions
Nearby
Sources: local-heritage-list.org.uk · jdwetherspoon.com