Take your (even more comfortable) seat, and enjoy the show!

Major investment into The Old Sunday School on Roe Street by public, business and supporters

Reputedly salvaged when the former Derby Playhouse closed in the late 1970s, the seats in The Old Sunday School auditorium have seen well over sixty years of use.

Now a full refurbishment is taking place, funded by generous donations from Silkscreen Film Society, Cinemac and the Friends of Macclesfield Silk Heritage.

Silkscreen, the local independent film society, began using The Old Sunday School auditorium in 2002, when there was no cinema in Macclesfield at all.

“We were a small group of film-enthusiasts who saw the huge potential of the building for cinema”, explains Ruth Simms, Chair of Silkscreen, “and decided that we could take on the project.”

In the early days there was no projection box, so the projector had to be laboriously rigged from a beam balanced across the auditorium.

“It was a four man operation just to set the equipment up for each screening,” recalls Ruth.

Steven Metcalf arrived in Macclesfield and chose the Roe Street building to set up Cinemac, his independent cinema, in December 2005, successfully converting to digital projection in 2011 at a time when many local cinemas were forced to close as technology changed. “It’s been a brilliant eleven years and a real pleasure to be based in such a unique venue, showing a range of films and live satellite events that cater for a wide variety of audiences. The building’s never been used so regularly and by so many people, and we’re delighted to be contributing to its future.”

The seats from the whole central block have been carefully removed, padded and reupholstered by experts and reinstated in batches to enable the auditorium to remain in use without interruption; Evertaut, auditorium seating specialists from Blackburn, have made the seats as good as new, if not better.

This is the first in a series of planned improvements and investments into The Old Sunday School, which is gearing up for a major programme of refurbishment nearly forty years after it was rescued from the threat of demolition.

It was given Grade II* listed status and transformed into a museum dedicated to showcasing Macclesfield’s history and providing community and performance space. As well as the cinema in the auditorium, the venue has developed over the years to include education resources, temporary display areas, a shop selling items from local craftspeople and companies, meeting rooms, The Tea Kitchen café, and Makers’ Place, which allows artists and makers to have studio space on site and sell their work.

“We’re very pleased to help keep The Old Sunday School at the heart of the community,” said Cllr Janet Jackson, Chair of the Friends of Macclesfield Silk Heritage. “It’s been a landmark in the town for over two centuries, and it will play a central part in Macclesfield’s life for many years to come.”

If you would like to make a donation to help fund the second phase of the building’s refurbishment, including the auditorium seats on the side aisles, and replacement windows, you can donate online through the Just Giving website: www.justgiving.com/silkheritagetrust or by text from your mobile phone: text MACC11 followed by the amount you want to donate, e.g. MACC11 £10 to 70070. Alternatively, contact Penny Asquith Evans on 01625 613210 or finance@silkmacclesfield.org.uk