F.E. Bromige

Frank Ernest Bromige (5 July 1902 – 23 December 1979) was a British architect of the Modernist and Art Deco styles. He is principally known for designing leisure buildings, especially cinemas, working mainly in Greater London and surrounding areas.

Life and career

Bromige was born in Lisson Grove, Marylebone in 1902. the Grade II listed Dominion in Acton (1937), and the Grade II listed Rio Cinema, Dalston, which was rebuilt to Bromige's design in 1937. His other cinema designs include the Granada in Hove (1933), the Dominion in Southall (1935; demolished 1982), and the Dominion in Harrow (1936), described as "one of the most remarkable cinema buildings ever to be erected in Britain". As of 2025, having previously been covered over with steel since the 1960s, the Harrow Dominion's facade has been uncovered and restored as part of a new apartment block.

In the postwar period, housebuilding was prioritised, and Bromige's final cinema project was the Regal in Hitchin, opened in 1939. Beyond designing cinemas, Bromige designed shops for the likes of WH Smith and Etam, mainly in West London. Other leisure buildings he worked on in his career included amusement arcades, such as in Jaywick, and the Portsmouth Stadium.

Bromige died on 23 December 1979.