Briton Picture House
Snape Hill Road and George Street,
Low Valley,
Darfield,
S73 9LT
Snape Hill Road and George Street,
Low Valley,
Darfield,
S73 9LT
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Located in the village Darfield, just over 4 miles east of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. It is thought the Briton Picture House, situated at the junction of Snape Hill Road and George Street, opened in April 1914. It was owned by Briton Picture Palace Company Ltd. and one of directors was architect Percy Archibald Hinchliffe. The manager is believed to have been G.E. Wharhar.
Its Cinematograph Licence was renewed on 29th April 1915. When it was further renewed on 27th April 1916, the operating company was Cinema Palace (Low Valley) Ltd.
There was no application for renewal in 1917, and it is assumed the Briton Picture Palace had ceased trading. If so, this is quite remarkable. This is a substantial two-storey building, quite unlike many of the very earliest of picture houses, but perhaps a ‘better opportunity’ came along.
What that might have been is not known, as the immediate use the building was put to is unknown. It was used as a billiard hall by the 1930’s, and then used for storage during World War II. In the 1950’s, in a rather ironic turn of fate, it became a roller skating rink, before spending many years as the Astoria dance hall. By the 1970’s it had moved over to bingo, then in the 1980’s, a snooker club & pool hall took over.
In 2005 it became home to Fishing Republic, which supplied fishing tackle. However, that company has since moved to new premises in nearby Wombwell.
Contributed by
Harry Rigby
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
This cinema did continue to be used as a cinema. It was latterly known as the Astoria Cinema, before closure and becoming a billiards/snooker hall and so on as detailed in the main text.