Scala Worcester has been awarded more than £104,000 in National Lottery funding to preserve and celebrate the city’s cinematic history through a new heritage project.

The £104,158 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund will support Reel Memories: Scala Worcester - from Cinema Heritage to Digital Futures, which will run from October 2026 until May 2028.

The project aims to capture memories and memorabilia from Scala’s time as a cinema between 1922 and 1973, exploring its role in bringing Worcester communities together and ensuring its history is preserved for future generations.

Dr Hannah Phillips, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Scala Worcester, said the project would help document a period of the city’s history that was still within living memory.

“Our project will collect memories and documentation about Scala when it operated as a cinema from 1922-1973, alongside contextualising Worcester’s cinemagoing during this time. The project will enable us to understand the role Scala played in bringing communities together when it was a cinema,” she said.

“Memories of Scala as a cinema are still just in living memory and we want to capture people’s memories and memorabilia whilst we can. Tickets stubs found during the refurbishment of Scala Worcester have already generated a flurry of responses and we look forward to hearing more stories.”

The funding will enable Scala Worcester to appoint a project manager and an outreach and education co-ordinator, who will oversee oral history projects, archival research, film projects with local pupils and events encouraging people to share their memories.

The work will result in a timeline and website bringing together the stories and historical material collected throughout the project.

The initiative will culminate in 2028 with an immersive event at Scala Worcester, featuring an interactive game, a co-created film and exhibition, podcast plays and digital resources inspired by the city’s cinema heritage.

Scala Worcester will work alongside a range of local partners to deliver the project, including Stanley Road Primary School, Newbridge School, Worcester City Council, Worcestershire Camera Club, Heart of Worcestershire College, the University of Worcester, Worcestershire Archives Service and oral history specialist Julia Letts of LettsTalk.

The project forms part of Scala Worcester’s wider plans to establish a new creative hub in Angel Place. Due to open in 2027, the venue will feature a 147-seat cinema showcasing independent films and special event screenings, alongside a programme designed to support creativity and bring people together in Worcester city centre.