Palace Theatre

In the centre of Bideford, Devon, in the early 19th century, the Master of Bideford Grammar School lived in a house roughly on this site. In 1871, this was replaced by Public Rooms, which were converted into the Bideford Music Hall in (I believe) 1879.

At some stage (the date is unclear) it was further converted into the Electric Palace of Varieties, run by J. E. Squire and with seating for 700.

In 1929 it was taken over by Norman Robertson, who registered the operating company as Palace Theatre (Bideford) Ltd. The seating was increased, to 800, and a British Thomson-Houston(BTH sound system was installed. Presumably this was when the name was changed to Palace Theatre. The stage was 20ft deep; the proscenium 22ft wide.

In 1938 Bideford Entertainments Ltd. took over the Palace Theatre. Closure took place in 1962. The building was demolished c1971.

A supermarket was built on the site, later being used as a furnishing store (Bideford Carpet & Furnishing Centre was in occupation in 1997).

In June 2013 the building was acquired by J. D. Wetherspoon and converted into one of their pubs. It took the name The Rose Salterne, after the heroine of ‘Westward Ho!’, the famous historical novel set in Bideford, and where it was written by Charles Kingsley in 1854.

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