Empire

Built as a cine-variety in 1912 with a good sized stage but no flytower. The exterior was regarded as ugly and described as a brick shed with cement-rendered panels and slated roof with a tall, featureless entrance frontispiece. The management was originally carried out by Wallace Childs who also controlled the Theatre Royal. There was no grid so backcloths had to be rolled. The dressing rooms were beneath the stage. The ratio of films to variety acts is unknown but it is thought that artistes were mainly used to fill in between films with the help of a live orchestra. The last variety act recorded for the Empire occurred in May 1925 although it was not used solely as a cinema until 1929/1930. The last film was shown in 1968 after which it became a bingo hall. In 1977, the Empire was closed after a fire and the single balcony removed. Despite refurbishment and attempts to bring back dual use as a cinema until 1982, the bingo hall closed in the 1990s. The theatre was demolished in 2006.