Nostalgia on Tuesday: Rise of the cinema

Prior to the 19th century, Halifax residents could find entertainment in a number of pub yards where travelling players performed.
Peter Tuffrey collectionPeter Tuffrey collection
Peter Tuffrey collection

Amusement could also be enjoyed with touring fairs but in 1789 the Theatre Royal was built. Situated adjacent to the Shakespeare Hotel, it was run by the landlord as an assembly room as well as a theatre.

In the following century, entertainment was offered in a number of large halls: Northgate Hall, opened in 1838; Oddfellows Hall, 1840; Mechanics Hall, 1857 and the Kingston Liberal Club, 1895. Oddfellows Hall, a huge building with a pillared Corinthian frontage, saw the appearance of Charles Dickens in September 1858, when he gave readings from A Christmas Carol. Unfortunately, he didn’t like Halifax: “It is as horrible a place as I ever saw, I think.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Towards the turn of the century projected images – magic lantern slides – were shown at a number of venues in the town. Moving pictures were not shown in cities and large towns until the first showing in London in 1896. Later in that year both the Halifax Theatre Royal and the Mechanics Hall showed animated pictures as part of other features. Moving pictures of Queen Victoria’s London Jubilee Procession were seen in Halifax during 1897 with locals becoming familiar with this new entertainment by the turn of the century.

Peter Tuffrey collectionPeter Tuffrey collection
Peter Tuffrey collection

The first decade of the 20th century saw the opening of several splendid palaces of entertainment in Halifax. The first of these was the Victoria Hall designed by architect W. Clement Williams for the Halifax Concert Hall and Public Rooms Company. It opened on February 8, 1901, with a concert by the Halle Orchestra.

The foundation stone for the Palace Theatre was laid on October 4, 1902. Costing £40,000 to build, the first performance was on August 3, 1903, with admission prices ranging from three pence to a shilling. Top of the bill was American comedienne Julie MacKay.

The old 18th century Theatre Royal existed until March 5, 1904, the last performance being Old Kentucky. In its place, a new Theatre Royal was opened by the Mayor of Halifax, Alderman Enoch Robinson, on August 4, 1905. The event also marked the first public performance, at the theatre, given by the Halifax Amateur Operatic Society.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Following the introduction of the Cinematograph Act in January 1910, one of the first cinema buildings in Halifax adhering to new regulations was the Electric Theatre which opened in that year in some converted stables and a riding school. Operated by National Electric Theatres of London, seating in the cinema was for about 1,750.

Picture house development moved apace in Halifax before the First World War. By 1912 the Theatre De Luxe welcomed patrons from another converted building – Northgate Hall – and the Ideal Picture House threw open its doors a year later. Films were also being screened in the Kingston Liberal Club, which became the Picturedrome, and the Mechanics Large Hall, becoming known as the Marlborough Hall, and subsequently the Gem Cinema.

Halifax’s first purpose-built cinema, the Picture House, was built for Provincial Cinematograph Theatres. The first screening was on October 2, 1913, and there were many facilities including cafes, tea rooms, a smoking lounge and writing rooms.

In 1915 the Victoria Hall was noted as showing films and two years later, the Alhambra Picture House entered the cinema world, occupying part of the Oddfellows Hall.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In 1928 the Picture House installed a Western Electric sound system to show a ‘talkie’, The Singing Fool featuring Al Jolson. Similar ‘talkie’ systems were eventually installed in other Halifax movie houses.

Peter Tuffrey collectionPeter Tuffrey collection
Peter Tuffrey collection

In line with other areas of the country during the 1930s, Halifax saw its smaller cinemas fade away or undergo refurbishment.

Halifax celebrated the opening of a super-cinema, the Odeon, on June 27, 1938, with 2,055 seats. It was built to the designs of George Coles at a cost of around £60,000. This development was matched several months later by Associated British Cinemas launching the New Regal Cinema on September 19.

The post-war years saw a number of takeovers, renamings, closures, demolitions and the inevitable conversion to bingo. The Star circuit run by Castleford’s Eckhart family ran the Palladium and Cosy Corner cinemas. The Picturedrome became the Lyric, the former Picture House took the title of the Gaumont and the Victoria Hall, the Civic Theatre.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

By the end of the 1950s, the Grand Picture House, the Palace Theatre, the Electric Cinema, the Picturedrome and the Alhambra Cinema were all closed. The last performance at the Palace was on May 31, 1959.

Peter Tuffrey collectionPeter Tuffrey collection
Peter Tuffrey collection

During the early 1960s, the Regal became the ABC, and closure came for the Palladium and Cosy cinemas. The Palladium building was converted to a bingo hall and then a carpet warehouse. The Alhambra was demolished in about 1962.

During the 1970s, the Odeon finally closed as a cinema and was converted to a Top Rank Club for bingo and later renamed Mecca. In the same decade, the Gaumont became the Astra in 1973, but from 1987 has been a popular nightclub.

The Regal was tripled in 1976 and renamed Cannon 10 years later, but reverted back to ABC before closure in 2002. Listing status from 2000 has ensured the building’s survival. Today Halifax’s only cinema is the Vue which opened in 2012.

For more information on Yorkshire cinemas, readers may consult Brian Hornsey’s publications for the Mercia Cinema Society.