The Palace Cinema, Buckley.

Eventually the new Picture Palace opened on Friday 20th December 1917 under the ownership of Cropper and Sons, overseen by Thomas Cropper. Ambitiously the venue incorporated a Post Office, printing works and a billiard hall within the building.

Thomas Cropper.

According to local newspaper reports for the opening, the cinema had 400 tip-up chair seats which were located in the stalls and balcony. The stage was of  reasonable proportions with anterooms on either side. The proscenium width was 19ft framing a 14ft screen.

The building was supplied with electricity that was generated on site by a National gas engine driving a dynamo. The local supply, North Wales Power, did not reach Buckley until 1925.

Situated in the rear stalls, the projection room was separate from the auditorium as required by law, and  there were four exits. The interior decoration was described as giving ” a pleasing effect”.

The entrance doors were glazed from half way up. The entrance hall was small with a basic wooden staircase. The balcony had three blocks of stepped seating. The stalls floor was flat which gave customers a pain in the neck, particularly if they sat near to the screen.  The stage area was formed by having two sharply angled walls on either side of the screen. A large shaped pelmet was hung above the screen with dark red leaf patterned curtains (tabs). Initially, the secondary lighting supply was by gas supply. The silent films were accompanied by the cinema’s orchestra, led at one time by a ‘clever and rising musician, H. E. Rowlands, who was warmly received by the appreciative audiences’.

The orchestra was made redundant when silent films were replaced with sound on film at the Palace during  1930. The new sound equipment was a British Acoustic sound system. The projectors were GB Kalee.

During 1936, Edward Jervis became the new proprietor.

Seat prices remained modest during his tenure with tickets priced between 6d to 1/-.

Projectionist, Ricky Platt, in the projection room of the Palace Cinema, Buckley. c 25th February 1961.

By the 1950s/60s a succession of new owners were at the helm. The 1959 Kinematograph Year Book lists the proprietor as J. Robinson, who was followed by Mrs E T Roberts and her nephew, Barry Flannagan, who successfully re-opened the cinema after it had been closed down.

Manager, Barry Flanagan puts up a poster announcing the re-opening of the Palace Cinema in February of 1961.

Eventually Wedgewood Cinemas purchased it, only to quickly dispose of it.  The cinema was demolished during 1975.

The Palace, Buckley, photographed in its final years as a cinema.

“THE END” of the Palace Buckley. c1975.

chestercinemas.co.uk

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