The Empress Pool (formerly The Empress Cinema)

The Empress Pool is housed within a former cinema: The Empress Cinema.

The cinema was built on the site of a house called the Priory, which was demolished by Henry Bancroft in 1935. The house had no connection with any religious establishment. It was called the priory by a Mr Fryer who felt that it was a fitting name for his home and also its proximity to the Abbey grounds.

The cinema was converted to its present use as a swimming pool by a local builder named Percy Rooke in 1964. Many of the original art deco features remain inside the building, including glasswork and places on the wall where the old art deco lamps would have been mounted. The modern extension at the front of the building, added at a later date, was the home of a car showroom. Behind this modern extension, it is possible to see the old facade of the art deco Empress Cinema.

Percy dug the pool out by hand and ran the pool at his own expense for many years, until a charitable trust (The Empress Swimming Pool Trust) took on the running of the pool itself. This arrangement continues to this day, and the pool was officially designated as Chatteris’ first Asset of Community Value in 2019.

Photographs: now and then

  • The Empress Pool, 2020. Photo: Lawrence Weetman
  • Murals painted on the outside of The Empress Pool, 2010. Photo: Chatteris Community Archive / Julie Smith
  • The Empress Garage, 1970s. Photo: Chatteris Community Archive / R Edwards
  • The Empress Cinema, still visible behind the modern extension, 1934. Photo: Chatteris Community Archive
  • The conversion of the cinema into the pool, 1964. Photo: Chatteris Community Archive / Chatteris Museum
  • Surviving art deco doors. Photo: Lawrence Weetman

Where is it?

Location and directions: Google Maps

Find out more

Taking a digital tour of Chatteris?

If you’re taking a Digital Tour of Chatteris, the next stop is the offices of Ward Gethin Archer solicitors – just next door to the pool!