Empire Palace

The Empire Palace in Belper opened in August 1911, in what had been Nottingham Manufacturing Company's 'Castle Blouse' factory. The situation was described as being 'adjacent to the Meadows', but the paper contained no description of the interior. The theatre ran once nightly cine-variety. In 1913 this increased to twice nightly on a Saturday. The date of closure is not known but adverts can be found in local papers up to 1916. The building later became a factory for Thorntons, the chocolate manufacturer, who came to Belper in 1947. By August 2009 the buildings were still extant, but apparently no longer in use. It is not clear which part of the facade to Derwent Street formed the entrance to the Empire Palace, or if any signs of the theatre remain within. The factories opposite form part of the 'Derwent Valley Mills' World Heritage Site.