National library reels in cinema archive

THE HISTORIC archive from Campbeltown Picture House (CPH) – one of the first purpose-built cinemas in Britain – is being donated to the safe keeping of the National Library of Scotland.

Campbeltown Community Business Ltd (CCB), which runs the cinema, has catalogued and digitised its paper records and agreed that their preservation is best secured as part of the moving image archive.

The Grade-A listed CPH is to re-open later this year, although an exact date has not been set.

The archive tells how the cinema became established in Scotland, detailing the roles played by some of its early pioneers and the people who backed them by becoming shareholders in CPH.

National Library collection manager Ruth Washbrook said: ‘The archive will enrich our collections and add to the knowledge we hold about cinema in Scotland.’

CCB chairman Jane Mayo said: ‘Our precious archive will become part of the national collection so future generations can be inspired by an isolated community determined to bring the latest technologies to their town.’

A Kintyre Amenity Trust draw is raising funds for the final touches to CPH, expected to open by Christmas. Prizes to be drawn at Springbank’s Christmas Market on November 26 include a Glen Scotia whisky celebrating 100 years of the cinema.