Gurdwaras, mosques, temples and churches: how faith groups are reviving England’s old cinemas

On the corner of Powis Street and Woolwich High Street in south-east London stands a large brick building. Its curved exterior and wide canopy over the entrance immediately signals that it is a cinema.

Looking up, however, passers-by might be surprised to see that in large letters arranged on the building’s tower is the word “Cathedral”. A lower sign specifies it houses the Christ Faith Tabernacle, a Pentecostal church group founded in Nigeria.

Directly opposite is another former...