A CITY'S secret cinema history has been chronicled in a new book.

Cinema in a Cathedral City has been put together by David Williams, former head of the Department of Film and Television at Bede College, Durham University.

The book looks at the history of film from Victorian times to the present day in Durham and its surrounding villages.

The tale begins in 1896, when films were brought to the People's Theatre in Court Lane and when fairground showmen would bring films to the city.

It looks at visits from stars, how film was used to provide treats for children from slum areas and how churches first viewed the cinema with suspicion.

Religious opposition to Sunday showings even resulted in the Palladium cinemas' seven-day licence being revoked in 1929.

Meanwhile, mine-owners and police from the villages supported Sunday shows, for steering miners' away from the pubs.

The book will be launched at the Gala Theatre on Thursday, February 19, at 2pm.

Mr Williams, of The Sands, Durham, said he had invited a number of former cinema employees to the launch, at which he will be showing old footage of Durham's cinemas.

He said: "I've invited old managers and projectionists because it's a celebration of their industry.

"They also made some contributions to the book."

* Cinema in a Cathedral City is published by Mercia Cinema Society, founded in 1979, to promote research into cinema history. The book costs £19.95 and is available from bookshops, or by post from the Sales Officer, Mercia Cinema Society, 100 Wickfield Road, Sheffield, S10 4TT.