Empire Cinema

In Kirkham, a small market town to the west of Preston, in South Fylde, Lancashire, it is thought that the Empire Picture Palace first opened in 1917. In the 1923 Kinematograph Year Book it is listed as being owned by Kirkham Picture Hall Ltd., the manager was J. Holden.

By the 1928 edition, the proprietor and manager of the now (slightly) renamed Empire Picture House was Llewellyn Gorton. Shows were once nightly, with three shows on Saturday.

By 1932 the proprietor was Fylde Co-operative Society Ltd. There was “occasional variety”.

A newspaper article dated 17th January 1935 reported that 270 new seats and two Kalee No. 7 projectors were being installed in the Empire, “which had been closed down for some time”, and which had been taken over by Gordon C. Bishop, of Blackpool. He appears to have renamed it the Empire Cinema.

By 1946 Vickers Empire (Kirkham) Ltd. had taken over. At that time, a seating capacity of 416 was recorded, and a proscenium width of 21ft 6ins. The following year, another new proprietor, this time Birley St. Cinema Ltd. Shows were twice nightly Monday to Saturday, with one show on Sunday.

By 1953 the seating capacity had been reduced, to 350, presumably to accommodate the CinemaScope that had been installed.

The final entry in the Kinematograph Year Books is in 1961.

That, however, is not the end of the story.

The building moved over to bingo but, in July 1980, local café owner Miss Ruth Blackburn, having won an agreement with the Rank Organisation to put in 300 seats and provide a projector and screen, applied for permission to return the hall to cinema use. In November her plans were rejected, on the casting vote of the planning committee chairman, due to his concerns about inadequate parking facilities.

An appeal was lodged and a 1,500 signature petition raised. The controversy even featured on the teatime TV regional news programme “Granada Reports” that December.

Permission was eventually granted, although the hoped-for Christmas 1980 re-opening could not take place, in part due to the need to strengthen the roof.

Happily, the Empire Cinema did finally re-open, on Friday 10th April 1981 with “The Jazz Singer”, starring Neil Diamond. Officiating, the Mayor, Councillor David Armer, praised Miss Blackburn for providing a worthwhile amenity for the town. The renovation had cost £50,000, with luxury seats at the rear of the 280-seat auditorium.

By July Miss Blackburn was reporting very strong business, including at the Saturday morning children’s shows. Oddly enough, there had not been any problems with car parking!

Unfortunately, cashflow problems were not far away and, in September 1982, it was reported that Miss Blackburn had put the cinema up for sale at £75,000.

The Empire Cinema was acquired by film buff Keith Hamblett who, with his wife Anne, endured a 288-mile round trip from their home in Sunderland to run the cinema, which by then had 254 seats. But they, too, found it hard going, especially after the UCI multiplex opened in nearby Preston in March 1990 (see separate Cinema Treasures entry). Mr Hamblett said he needed 450 patrons each week, but they were averaging only 200.

The Empire Cinema duly closed on 5th September 1991 - only to re-open a week later, on 13th September, with “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves”, starring Kevin Costner, under new owners, husband and wife team Mark Barlow and Jayne Ashley, of Kirkham.

All went well, and the first anniversary was marked with a free film show, but, inevitably, dark clouds began to gather, and, in March 1993, Mr Barlow put out a “use it or lose it” plea. This did not succeed, and the Empire Cinema closed in May 1993. Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs” played until Thursday 27th May, followed by, in a nice touch, the classic drama “Brief Encounter” on the Friday and the romantic drama “Strictly Ballroom” on the Saturday.

Plans to convert the building into a workingmen’s club were turned down due to possible late-night disturbance to the neighbouring households. But then, in yet another twist in the tale, Mr Barlow, who had been inundated with support from residents for the cinema’s re-opening (despite those falling attendances…) decided to give it another go.

To allow him to spend more time on his work as a barrister, the day to day running of the Empire Cinema was taken on by projectionist Bob Stewart. It re-opened in August 1993 with children’s favourite “Teenage Mutant Turtles III” and “Cliffhanger”, starring Sylvester Stallone, among the first presentations.

By February 1994 the Empire Cinema was doing so well that it was able to show its first ‘day and date’ film, “The Three Musketeers”, starring Keifer Sutherland and Charlie Sheen.

But the good times were not to last, and problems also mounted with such an old building. So the Empire Cinema finally closed, with children’s adventure “The Flintstones”, on Thursday 15th September 1994.

The building lay unused, and was due to be demolished in January 1997. However, in the early morning of Tuesday 3rd December 1996 it was engulfed in flames. A sad, but admittedly spectacular, end to a long-running, truly local, cinema.

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