NOSTALGIC pictures of the former Odeon in Warrington town centre feature in a new book on the history of Cheshire.

The book, which is published this week, delves into the archives of Historic England to create a look at the special character of some of the county’s most important historic sites.

Historic England: Cheshire Unique Images from the Archives of Historic England has been penned by freelance writer Paul Hurley who lives in Winsford.

The photographs are taken from the Historic England Archive, a unique collection of more than 12 million photographs, drawings, plans and documents covering England’s archaeology, architecture, social and local history.

The pictures date from the earliest days of photography to the present and cover subjects from the Bronze Age burials and medieval churches to cinemas and seaside resorts.

Warrington Guardian: The Odeon

The entries and pictures in Warrington include the Town Hall, museum and art gallery, Greenall Whitley’s Brewery, Bridge Foot, Risley and Thorn Cross prisons, the building of the Manchester Ship Canal, St Oswald’s church in Winwick and the parish church.

The Odeon, which was built in 1937, also features.

It includes its closure after a fire in 1968 and its renovation work in 1980 which saw an extra screen added.

The cinema was closed at the end of August 1994 and demolished.

Warrington has been without a cinema in the town centre since. That run is due to end though in the new year when the Cineworld multiplex is due to open in the new Time Square development.

A spokesman for publishers Amberley Publishing said: “The county of Cheshire was for centuries a strategically important region in north west England on the border with Wales, heavily fortified by the Romans in Cheshire and part of Anglo-Saxon Mercia before becoming a County Palatine with independent powers under the Normans.

“This book will help you discover the rich history of the county.”

The book is out now priced £14.99.