Unique footage of Bath as it was half a century ago has come to light after being discovered gathering dust in a city centre cinema.

Described as a "rare window into the past", the material features local landmarks such as the Royal Crescent as well as famous residents including author Horace Annesley Vachell.

Four reels of black and white film – a full 1950s BBC TV show – was found "tucked in a corner" at the Little Theatre Cinema, St Michaels Place.

The programme – Bath: Queen of the West – dates from 1952 and was presented by Richard Dimbleby. According to the BBC, it is the only copy in existence.

Paddy Robinson-Griffin, a producer for Bristol media production company Yatta Ltd , said he spotted the dusty reels after nipping into the cinema's projection booth for a chat.

Paddy said: "I was talking with a projectionist in one of the projection boxes when I noticed four old cans of film tucked in an awkward corner.

"The projectionist told me they'd been around for a long, long time and that they were a 'documentary about Bath, with a Dimbleby in'.

"Apparently the cinema borrowed and screened the BBC print back in the 1960s but for some reason forgot to return it, and I guess it became less and less urgent over time."

Following the discovery, Paddy contacted the British Film Institute in London, which is now restoring the footage.

In the programme, broadcast as part of the About Britain series, presenter Richard Dimbleby (father of David and Jonathan Dimbleby) visits the Roman Baths, where he talks to the assistant curator about excavations on the site.

The programme also features a history of the city, the roles of figures such as Beau Nash and Ralph Allen, and stunning architecture including Prior Park, the Royal Crescent and Circus.

Dimbleby explores local traditional industries, discovering how Bath stone is cut in a nearby quarry and how gold leaf is applied to book covers at a bindery.

This is followed by a visit to local author Horace Annersley Vachell, then in his 91st year, before ending with a trip to Bath Abbey.

Horace Annesley Vachell was a prolific English writer of novels, plays, short stories, essays and autobiographical works.

He wrote more than 50 volumes of fiction including a popular school story, The Hill (1905), which gives an idealised view of life at Harrow and of the friendship between two boys. He also wrote 14 plays, the most successful of which in his lifetime was Quinneys (1914), made into a film in 1927.

Another play, The Case of Lady Camber (1915), was the basis for Hitchcock's film Lord Camber's Ladies (1932).

Much of his writing concerned a comfortably prosperous English way of life which was echoed in his beautiful old house near Bath and his old-fashioned, distinguished appearance and manner.

He died on January 10, 1955 in Bath.

Cinema manager Martin Jennings-Wright said the find made him wonder what else "might be tucked away" awaiting discovery.

He said: "The Little Theatre has played a key part in Bath's cinema provision for 70 years, so it's entirely fitting that this significant piece of local film has been found in the Little itself.

"It's made us wonder what else might be tucked away here – and as we get on with some refurbishment work over the next few weeks, who knows what else we might uncover."

Dick Fiddy of the BFI said he hoped to screen the programme at a forthcoming event dedicated to missing TV.

He added: "This is a genuine new find from the early days of TV and an intriguing travelogue featuring a fascinating look at Bath of the 1950s."

The film is currently with the restorers and so no stills are yet available from it.