SWINGING doors, a ladies’ cloakroom and wooden stairs that once led to “The Ball Room” have been discovered inside a building thought to have been largely lost to history.

The Kings in Bishop Auckland was at one time one of four cinemas in the town alongside The Eden, The Hippodrome and The Odeon.

Originally an assembly hall, it was converted into a picture house in 1902 and after numerous relaunches eventually closed in 1960.

After closing its doors the Newgate Street building was turned into a supermarket.

The cinema and ballroom were at some point demolished, leaving only the front part of the building standing, and its interiors were understood to be lost forever.

However, an exploration by the most recent leaseholder has uncovered a section of the building which stands almost unchanged.

Steve and Tracy Hopper, who run Bishop Auckland Social Enterprise (BASE), made the discovery above the two shops to the left of the store which they have taken over and are now on a mission to preserve what remains.

Mr Hopper said: “We were looking round upstairs and I noticed a staircase. We were told we shouldn’t go up because pigeons were there and it was derelict - but I just had to.”

What Mr Hopper found was a wooden staircase on the first floor leading up to what is labelled with a hand pointing up on the wall and a sign which reads “To the Gents Cloakroom. Ballroom”.

Halfway up the staircase is a landing which leads to the men’s toilets and then at the top of the stairs are a pair of swinging, wooden, glass-panelled doors - which still swing today.

Inside is a lounge and reception area with a bar which has working wooden shutters and pigeon holes behind which might have been used for hats and gloves.

The wood-panelled room also leads off to a ladies’ cloakroom, signposted in gold on the wooden door, which still has the numbered hooks.

Stained-glass windows - of which are either intact, damaged or boarded up - are to the front and back while a wooden staircase leads to what would have been “The Ballroom”, but what now leads to the open air.

Another wooden flight of stairs leads to the building’s third floor to what is believed was the projector room, complete with what Mr Hopper understands to be the “projector’s tunnel”.

The fascinating find has spurred on Mr and Mrs Hopper to make plans to generate funds and interest to go towards preserving the remains.

“This is all that is left of the Kings and if that last bit doesn’t get protected it will be gone forever,” he said.

The couple are planning to make use of the large first floor room above BASE, which was once an elegant restaurant, in the hope the venture will make a profit to go back into the building.

The room, which has the building’s distinctive large window, has had two levels of ceilings installed - hiding the previously undiscovered, original coving.

Mr and Mrs Hopper are also planning to host the last meal to be eaten in the restaurant, and the last film to be watched at the Kings.

The film would be projected onto the shutters of the rear car park which was once the back of the cinema.