stories under the slates
The Initiative
Stories Under the Slates is now closed, and the 120 personalised roof tiles will be installed on the roof by mid-March!
The Stories Under the Slates initiative gave people the opportunity to handwrite a special message on the back of a new slate for the auditorium roof of the Paignton Picture House, replacing around 2,500 slates that had been in very poor condition.
For a suggested donation of £10 per slate, supporters could write a memory, a poem, a story, a message to celebrate an anniversary or in memory of a loved one, or even draw a picture.
Those slates joined a collection of stories held within the very fabric of the building for over 100 years. They became part of a lasting legacy for Paignton, creating a unique historic record of community memories and messages.
Stories Under the Slates was more than a fundraising initiative; it connected past, present, and future. Every slate told a story, and together those stories helped provide shelter for this treasured building.
HOW it worked
Participants could take part online: they donated, submitted their message, and the team hand-wrote it on a slate and sent a photo back to them.
All slates were kept safe until they were needed on the roof. Photos of every slate were collated into photo books that will be displayed once Paignton Picture House reopens.
This beloved community landmark was being restored at the time of the project, and Stories Under the Slates helped bring new life to the iconic cinema during its journey toward reopening.
Paignton Picture House Trust (Registered Charity 1157934) managed the initiative and the broader restoration project.