The Duke of York's Picturehouse and its famous legs

You will see the legs before you see anything else. A giant pair of female legs in black-and-white striped stockings kick out above Preston Circus, apparently mid can-can, on top of a Baroque cinema that has been showing films since 1910. It is the Duke of York's Picturehouse, and it is one of the best reasons to take the walk up from the station end of town.

A cinema from 1910

The Duke of York's opened on 22 September 1910 at the head of London Road, on the site of a former brewery. The founder was Violet Melnotte-Wyatt, a former actress who also owned the Duke of York's Theatre in London's West End, which she had built with her husband Frank Wyatt in the 1890s. The cinema borrowed the name. According to MoneyWeek it cost £3,000 to build, roughly £316,000 in today's money.

The architects were Brighton firm Clayton & Black, and Brighton History credits C E Clayton. Early admission ran from threepence to a shilling, and MoneyWeek says an electric piano provided the music. Popcorn only turned up just before the Second World War.

The big claim is longevity. Brighton History calls it "almost certainly" the oldest surviving purpose-built cinema in continuous use in Britain, and "probably" in the world. Cinema Treasures and MoneyWeek both describe it as Britain's oldest continuously operating purpose-built cinema. The Phoenix in East Finchley makes a similar claim, but its first performance was 11 May 1911, so the Duke's has the head start. The building was made Grade II listed on 24 November 1994.

One old marketing line deserves reviving: "Bring her to the Duke's, it is fit for a Duchess."

The legs on the roof

The legs went up in 1991. They came from a closed cinema in Oxford, which Cinema Treasures names as the "Not the Moulin Rouge" theatre. Brighton History says they were first mounted on the portico and later moved to the roof, where a large satellite dish eventually joined them. Wikimedia Commons now describes them as the can-can legs for which the building is well known, and that is fair. Stand on the Preston Circus roundabout side for the best view, and try not to walk into a bus while looking up.

Inside

It is a single screen, with 278 seats according to Picturehouse's accessibility page (other listings give slightly different numbers, so call it roughly 270 to 280). The screen is 8.3m by 3.5m. The balcony has sofa seats, which are double seats sold as two, in rows Q13 to 15, R and S. TripAdvisor's description also mentions a royal box, and says you can take drinks into the screen, with wine, beer and snacks on sale.

Our advice: if you want the sofas, book early and go for the balcony. The box office, kiosk, accessible toilet and screen are all on the ground floor, with four wheelchair spaces. Euan's Guide notes step-free access on the left of the main entrance, then a ramp, plus an induction loop and audio description.

What it costs

Prices below come from Picturehouse's information page, so check before you book.

• Peak (Tuesday to Friday after 5pm, all day Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays): adult £13.40, member £10.40, retired or student £11.90, child £8.90, family £33.20 (four people, at least two children).
• Off-peak (Tuesday to Friday before 5pm): adult £11.70, member £8.70, retired or student £10.20, child £8.20, family £30.40.
• Happy Mondays (all day Monday except bank holidays): adult £8.20, member £5.20, child £6.20.

Booking online or by phone adds 70p a ticket, though not for members or for tickets bought in person. Picturehouse also promotes U25 tickets at £6.99. Opening hours change week to week and the doors open about 30 minutes before the first film, so book through picturehouses.com or the Picturehouse app.

Getting there

Parking around Preston Circus is not easy, and Picturehouse says there is no disabled bay on the adjacent streets. Go by bus, train or on foot if you can.

The sister cinema: Duke's at Komedia

Down in the North Laine, at 44 to 47 Gardner Street, is the younger sibling. Komedia's own history says that after arts funding cuts in 2008 its large upstairs performance space became hard to sustain, so in 2012 the Duke of York's Picturehouse converted it into a cinema with two screens and a bar, named Dukes @ Komedia. Cinema Treasures gives its opening as 6 December 2012.

Picturehouse describes it as a contemporary and cosy two-screen cinema and bar. Screen 1 has 144 seats and Screen 2 has 97, and both have sofa seats and wheelchair spaces. Cycle parking is on Gardner Street. And yes, the legs have been replicated on the front, so you will know you are in the right place.

Worth knowing for November

CineCity, the Brighton film festival, runs 6 to 15 November 2026, with the Duke of York's as a venue, and Picturehouse says it returns to Duke's at Komedia too. Further on, listings include Kids' Club with The Nightmare Before Christmas and a Pumpkin Party on Saturday 21 November (tickets £3), and Duke's After Dark showing The Lighthouse at 11pm that night. Check the Picturehouse listings for the full programme.

For the history in more depth, Brighton History has a detailed timeline, and Komedia's history page tells the story of the Gardner Street building.