Bill Boaden, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do · Wotton-under-Edge
The Electric Picture House, Wotton-under-Edge
A 100-seat cinema on Market Street, Wotton-under-Edge, opened in 1913 in the old Crown Inn and showing new films and live theatre, ballet and opera screenings.
Rainy days · Family-friendly
A small town cinema that first opened in 1913, with volunteer ushers and cheap tickets. A good evening in Wotton, or a wet afternoon; book ahead for anything popular, because a sell-out means a sell-out.
- Good: First opened in Wotton in 1913
- Good: Tickets from £5; £6 for all on Mondays (2026)
- Good: Live theatre, ballet and opera screenings
- Good: Accessible, with an induction loop
- Worth knowing: 100 seats: book ahead for popular films
- Worth knowing: No car park of its own
About
The Electric Picture House is the cinema on Market Street in Wotton-under-Edge, and it first opened more than a century ago. William Coe and his wife bought the de-licensed Crown Inn in 1911 and opened the cinema in its upstairs banqueting room in 1913; demand was such that they pulled down the old stables and built a new auditorium for 220 people, which opened in 1921. Sound came in 1930. The cinema closed in 1960, reopened briefly in 1963 before the building went over to bingo, and closed again in 2002; it reopened in November 2005, and since April 2015 The Electric Picture House Cinema Ltd has run it.
Today it seats 100 and shows a full programme of new releases, with matinées, alongside National Theatre Live, Royal Ballet and Royal Opera screenings. Some Royal Ballet and Opera nights go out live from Covent Garden, such as Carmen on 10 November 2026, Così fan tutte on 23 February 2027 and Romeo and Juliet on 25 May 2027; the rest, and the National Theatre Live plays, are recorded. Volunteer ushers check tickets, and the kiosk sells popcorn, sweets, hot drinks, beer and wine at prices it says are well below the larger cinemas.
In 2026 an adult ticket was £8.90, over-60s £7.80, 12 to 18s and students £6.20 and under-12s £5, with every ticket £6 on Mondays; live events cost more. Book online, for a 75p fee a booking, or ring 01453 844601 when the box office is open. Every seat can be booked ahead, so a show that is sold out online is sold out. Doors open 30 minutes before the start, and the adverts and trailers last up to 15 minutes.
Matinées run at 2pm on some weekday afternoons; evenings and weekends are when popular films sell out. The cinema has an induction loop, accepts the CEA card and asks you to say if you need help. There is no car park of its own; park free at The Chipping, a few minutes' walk.
Opening hours and season
Open for screenings only; doors 30 minutes before. Recorded programme line 01453 844401.
Facilities
- AccessibleInduction loop in the auditorium; CEA card accepted
- KioskPopcorn, sweets, hot drinks, beer and wine
- No car parkFree parking at The Chipping
The details
- Time to allow
- The length of the film, usually two to three hours
- Features
- Shop
- History
- Opened 1913 in the old Crown Inn; new auditorium 1921
- Parking
- No car park of its own. Free parking at The Chipping, a few minutes' walk.
Location
Accessibility
- Hearing loop
The cinema says it is accessible to disabled visitors and has an induction loop. It accepts the CEA card, which gives a free ticket for a companion.
Places to stay nearby
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The Swan Hotel
Hotel · Wotton-under-Edge
A Grade II listed coaching inn on Market Street in the middle of Wotton-under-Edge, with 18 en-suite rooms, a restaurant and bar, and dogs welcome.
Dog-friendly · Walker-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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Hunts Court Huts
Glamping · North Nibley
Two glamping pods and a shepherd's hut for two, each with its own wood-fired hot tub, on a working farm at Forthay, North Nibley, by the Cotswold Way.
Hot tubs · Walker-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
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Forthay Bed and Breakfast
B&B · North Nibley
A late seventeenth-century farmhouse B&B with four rooms for two in the hamlet of Forthay, below the Tyndale Monument at North Nibley, on the Cotswold Way.
Dog-friendly · Walker-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- The Star Inn, Wotton-under-Edge
- The Swan Hotel 0.0 km away
- Relish, Wotton-under-Edge 0.1 km away
- Wotton Heritage Centre 0.1 km away
Sights nearby
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Hugh Perry Almshouses, Wotton-under-Edge
Sight · Historic building · Wotton-under-Edge
The Hugh Perry Almshouses on Church Street in Wotton-under-Edge were built in 1638 from the bequest of a London alderman from the town, and extended for Thomas Dawes's charity from 1723, round a courtyard with a small chapel. Grade II; still homes.
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The Ancient Ram Inn, Wotton-under-Edge
Sight · Historic building · Wotton-under-Edge
The Ancient Ram Inn is a late medieval house at Potters Pond in Wotton-under-Edge, by the church, with a jettied timber-framed gable. Often dated to 1145, its timbers were felled in 1495 to 1496. Grade II*; private, with booked paranormal events.
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St Mary's Church, Wotton-under-Edge
Sight · Church · Wotton-under-Edge
St Mary's is Wotton-under-Edge's Grade I parish church, with late thirteenth-century arcades, a six-stage fourteenth-century tower, the brasses of Thomas, Lord Berkeley and his wife, and an organ bought in 1800. Open daily.
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Jubilee Clump, Wotton Hill
Sight · Viewpoint · Wotton-under-Edge
Jubilee Clump is the walled ring of trees on Wotton Hill above Wotton-under-Edge, replanted in 1888 for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee on a spot said to have been first planted after Waterloo: a landmark and viewpoint on the Cotswold Way. Free.