The secret cinema hidden in an Edinburgh basement flat

A basement level connected a residential thoroughfare successful Edinburgh's New Town has a concealed which dates backmost astir 90 years - it is location to a hidden cinema.

For decades, radical person been walking past the Georgian townhouse astatine 23 Fettes Row unaware of what was inside.

It has been location to a cinema since a radical of amateur movie enthusiasts founded the Waverley Cine Society successful 1936.

In its heyday determination was a waiting database to articulation the nine - and aft a large renovation successful the 1970s, the Queen Mother was among its visitors.

But changes successful exertion person seen numbers dwindle since the 1980s and present the nine is to unfastened its doors to the nationalist connected Tuesday successful an effort to pull caller members.

Now called the Edinburgh Cine and Video Society, its secretary, Stewart Emm, gave BBC Scotland a circuit down the scenes.

Entering the basement flat, we question down a corridor past respective acheronian rooms and aged workplace spaces earlier turning near past a kitchen.

On the close are aged woody doors that unfastened into the 52-seat cinema, which is clad successful embossed wallpaper from the 1930s.

On the near is simply a ample country with movie awards connected the partition and done a tiny doorway connected the acold broadside is the projector room, up immoderate constrictive steps.

"Nobody knows we are here, truthful we are rather a concealed cinema," says 76-year-old Mr Emm.

The New Town gathering was archetypal converted to a cinema soon aft the nine was founded successful the 1930s.

The thought was to amusement the amateur cine films made by nine members astatine their regular meetings oregon astatine assorted summertime outings.

Over the years it built up a room of movie footage that has formed a invaluable archive of societal past successful the beingness of Edinburgh.

"Sometimes we would each get unneurotic to marque a nine comedy, fabrication oregon question documentary," Mr Emm says.

The nine allowed members to larn film-making skills, including editing and amusement their finished films.

When the nine was archetypal formed the club's premises spanned 3 floors, with a sub-basement being fto retired to wage for the mortgage.

The outbreak of World War Two inhibited the club's film-making activities but pistillate members kept the nine going, organising fundraising events to assistance with the owe payments.

It had a resurgence aft the war. The nine rooms were refurbished and regular meetings were held connected Friday nights, with film-making groups astatine weekends.

In the 1950s, the aged autobus seats which were primitively utilized successful the cinema were replaced with banal from a section cinema that was closing.

This created a 78-seat auditorium with a abstracted projection box.

Mr Emm says the nine "flourished" successful the 20 years aft the war, reaching its maximum permitted rank of 150 - and determination was besides a waiting list.

The owe was yet paid disconnected successful 1959. Three of the 5 archetypal investors were recovered but they declined repayment.

Major renovation works were carried retired connected the past 150-year-old gathering erstwhile it was designated a listed gathering successful the aboriginal 1970s.

Following those works, the Queen Mother - who was patron of the conservation committee - unveiled a plaque connected the members-only cinema and had a circuit of the nine rooms.

"Like galore earlier episodes successful the society's past this was recorded connected film," Mr Emm says.

With a reduced membership, and a request to money the stock of the gathering works, the crushed level and the sub-basement was sold off, with the nine conscionable keeping the basement in-between the 2 floors - wherever it created a smaller 52-seat cinema.

The members did each the enactment to determination the cinema to the basement including joinery and coating work.

The floors were sold disconnected to wage for extortion repairs, leaving the nine with conscionable the basement. The cinema had antecedently been successful a country supra the basement.

Then successful the 1980s came videotape - which proved a menace to cine film.

Many of the members resented and rejected this caller format and expressed their feelings strongly.

They divided into 2 groups with Thursday nights becoming video nights portion Friday evenings were kept for the main nine activities with cine film.

Now with a dwindling rank of lone 14 - 2 of whom are successful their 90s - the nine is to unfastened its doors adjacent week successful a bid to enlistee caller members.

Mr Emm said: "The existent members wouldn't similar to beryllium described arsenic old, but they are excessively aged present to support it going.

"I deliberation we request immoderate younger members now.

"We person the cognition and the exertion but we are present lacking the originative element.

"We request a play radical that tin marque scripts and we request actors for our films."