Blue Dome Church, England

The Blue Dome Church is an architecturally beautiful community and arts building in England. The building is very decayed, considering it was abandoned less than 10 years ago!

The main hall has a beautiful domed ceiling, painted a cheerful sky blue. Six columns support the broad dome. The dome has twelve circular windows, which are framed with decorative moulded plasterwork. The balcony floor has a ring of wooden folding seats. The seats are strewn with the most amazing spiderwebs as well as collapse plaster and wood from the ceiling.

At the front of the hall is the pulpit, flanked with three wooden crosses. Above this is a lilac and maroon checked board, with a turquoise upper-middle panel containing a cross. This board likely marks the position of the old cinema screen. The parquet floor of the stalls area below is warped by water damage. An old grand piano stands near the pulpit.

I visited the Blue Dome Church in 2022, and was pleasantly surprised to be able to finally get inside. This is another location that has been on my wish list for some time. A most interesting entrance, proving the adage “fortune favours the bold”!

History of the Blue Dome Church

The Blue Dome Church was built in the early 20th century. An older late 19th century hall and chapel were demolished to make way for the new church. The new building was more than just a church. It was a headquarters for the mission in the area, as well as a venue for their social meetings and worship.

As the golden age of cinema approached, the Blue Dome Church operated as a cinema screening religious movies. Later, the church also hosted cinematic screenings of regular movies. For one reason or another, the church closed the cinema after 20 years.

The Blue Dome Church operated until the mid-2010s, before being vacated. The building seems to still be owned by the church, but its future is uncertain.