Futurist Cinema

The Electra Palace Theatre was located in Elsecar, midway between Barnsley & Rotherham, South Yorkshire. It was opened on 27 August 1912 and seated 600 on the single sloping floor. It had been designed by architects T. Menson Robinson and Percy J. Roberts and built by Messrs. Longden & Son of Sheffield. It was very well appointed with Oak panelling in the foyer and tip-up seats throughout the auditorium, the more expensive one being better upholstered and the cheapest probably wooden seats. The proscenium was 24ft wide. There were two electric fans to extract hot air and the building was centrally heated in winter.

By 1930 a Western Electric(WE) sound system had been installed and the seating was now reduced to 450. By 1934 it was equipped with a British Thomson-Houston(BTH) sound system. It was renamed the Palace Cinema in May 1938 and the Futurist Cinema from August of the same year.

The Futurist Cinema closed relatively late in 1985 (when no one turned up to see the final programme). It was converted into a club, which itself closed soon after and the cinema became an auction room. After 1995 it became unused. In 2002 it was purchased by retired TV engineer Trevor Miller who converted the building into his home.

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