This book has been a long time in the making and many people helped to make it possible. My interest in cinema history began as an undergraduate student at the University of Sheffield and was then developed during an MA at Queen’s University Belfast. I then furthered this interest in the doctoral thesis from which this book emerged. I am grateful to all the students and staff who encouraged (or at least tolerated) my enthusiasm for historical cinemas.
I wish to thank the late Keith Jeffery for his help during my MA and for his encouragement in the PhD application process. My PhD supervisor Sean O’Connell has been very generous with his advice, guidance and support. Since completing my PhD, I have received support from many academic colleagues both at Queen’s University Belfast and on the European Cinema Audiences project.
I have been extremely fortunate that many intelligent people have read part or all the manuscript. I would like to thank Kieran Connell, Ida Milne, Tim Somers, Conor Campbell, Stuart Irwin, Ryan Mallon and Jack Crangle for kindly reading parts of my PhD thesis. My examiners, Melvyn Stokes and Fearghal McGarry, offered positive feedback and encouraged me to convert the thesis into a monograph. One of the great benefits of publishing in the New Historical Perspectives series has been the guidance, mentoring and support of several talented historians. John Sedgwick, Penny Summerfield, Heather Shore and Robert James all read a draft of my monograph and offered suggestions for improvement. Their advice and editorial guidance has undoubtedly made this a far better book than it might have been. I am also indebted to everyone at the Royal Historical Society, the Institute of Historical Research and University of London Press who helped to create this book, particularly Jane Winters, Emily Morrell, Philip Carter and Kerry Whitston.
The work was carried out in a number of archives and libraries. I would like to thank archivists and staff at Belfast Central Library, the Cinema Museum, the Cinema Theatre Association Archive, PRONI, Sheffield City Archives, Sheffield Local Studies Library and Sheffield University. I am particularly grateful to my former colleagues at McClay Library Special Collections, who accommodated my employment alongside doctoral research. My extended research trips to Sheffield could not have happened without the kind hospitality of Chris Wood and the Dobson family. Thank you for tolerating me during two enjoyable summers.
I am privileged to have spent so much of my research speaking to people about their memories and experiences of cinema-going. Thank you to everyone I interviewed as part of this project and to the many people who helped organize these interviews.
I would like to thank all my friends and family members who offered support and guidance throughout this process. I am especially grateful to my two nieces, Daisy and Tilly, who always put a smile on my face when times are tough. My greatest debt is to Lauren Rose Browne, without whose love and support this book would never have seen the light of day. I dedicate this book to her.