Ritz Cinema
Church Street,
Darwen,
BB3 2RE
Church Street,
Darwen,
BB3 2RE
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Public Hall, Public Hall & Palace of Varieties, Premier Palace de Luxe
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Located in Darwen, Lancashire. The Public Hall has two levels with the ground floor containing a concert room and bar, and the first floor currently in use as a bingo club. It was presenting films as early as 4th December 1908, presumably in the concert room.
By 1915 it was known as the Public Hall & Palace of Varieties, presenting variety shows with some film use. By 1918 it had been re-named Premier Palace de Luxe.
Reverting back to the Public Hall name in 1924, it was equipped with a ‘talkie’ system (make unknown) in 1931. In 1938 it was equipped with a British Talking Pictures(BTP) sound system. It was closed by September 1939
Taken over by Gordon’s Theatres Ltd. of Blackpool in 1944/1945, it was re-opened as the Ritz Cinema, and it closed in 1962. As mentioned above, it operated as a joint bingo club and bar named Franky’s Club. The building was badly damaged by a fire in the early morning hours of 21st November 2012. It was soon demolished.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
Sadly, the fire was such that the building was fully demolished shortly afterwards. As of 2022, there is a vacant plot of land where the cinema once stood.