The Commodore Cinema was built in 1933 by the local Spencer-May family . It was intended to be a more modern alternative to their Picture Palace at the other end of the High Street. It was designed by architects Leslie H. Kemp and F. E. Tasker.

Sold in the early 1960s to the Shipman and King chain and later passing to EMI, it closed in May 1982 , the intention being to convert it to a bingo hall, the fate of many of its contemporaries. This never happened; instead it was demolished and replaced by a branch of McDonald's.