THE great days of cinema will be returning to Leigh, Tyldesley, Atherton and Astley in the autumn, thanks to local history expert Tony Ashcroft.

For Tony, who is the Local Studies Officer at Leigh Library, is busy writing a book titled 'The Sixpenny Rush', which will also be an illustrated guide to the many picture palaces which once flourished in the district.

The nostalgia trip to the great days of cinema is certain to be a major attraction for the book, with local people enjoying once again their memories of matinees and major features, with memories tweaked even further with the collection of photographs of long gone cinemas taken from the Heritage Service archives in Leigh Town Hall.

Tony said: "The number of cinemas which used to be in Leigh and Atherton was quite amazing, and quite a few building which once were cinemas still survive in the area. Most people remember the times they went to the pictures, and the sixpenny rush in particular is remembered by locals who used to queue for the Saturday matinee.

"This book, hopefully, will bring back the days when people in this area used to go out of their houses for their enjoyment instead of watching television. And this being the 100th anniversary of British cinema it seemed an appropriate time to produce the book, which will be on sale sometime in September."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.