History
The Theatre Royal, a replacement of an earlier theatre, opened in 1904/5 purely for live entertainment. A superb façade in ashlar stone in the Edwardian style dates from this period, and was designed by Richard Horsfall & Son of Halifax.
The 1,900-seat auditorium, believed to have been on 4 levels was gutted in April 1937 and to the plans of architect Christopher Rowland Cooper a new two tier 2,200-seat cinema auditorium was created which extended into the stage area.
The cinema closed around the 1960’s and became a bingo hall which in turn closed in the 1990’s. Various redevelopment schemes, retaining the façade of the Grade II Listed building, but demolishing the auditorium came to nought and it re-opened as a nightclub, Chinese restaurant and bar. Unfortunately, by 2007 these had closed and the building was ‘For Sale’, with the latest plans being for a hotel.
Esoteric Eric
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