WE were recently asked to look out some old photographs of cinemas in and around Durham City. It sounds an easy task, and perhaps for the city it is – its purpose-built cinema history runs from the Globe of May 1913 to the Robins which closed in 2003 although, of course, numerous theatres, halls and assembly rooms also showed films.

The real difficulty is in the coalfield villages which each had at least one picture hall/fleapit in their midst, often no more than a tin shed. And no one, yet, seems to have catalogued them.

So here are a few pictures for starters – where else should we be looking? Do you have any memories of coalfield cinemas? Please email chris.lloyd@nne.co.uk