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Palladium, Durham
Cinema Address:
27 Claypath, Durham, DH1 1RH
Period of Thompson Ownership:
1929-1976
How Acquired by Thompson:
Built
Architect/Design:
Architects Thomas Ridley Milburn, William Milburn of Sunderland. The site was on a hill back from the front. The narrow frontage led into a foyer which was situated (due to the hillside) between the stalls and balcony. The stage was 20 feet deep with a number of dressing rooms and a proscenium 35 feet wide. Seating was provided in stalls and circle.
Other Info:
It was due to open in October 1928 but did not in fact open until 18th March 1929 with Alice Terry in “Garden of Allah”. Although built to accommodate Theatre performances this never really happened because the layout of the stage & seating arrangements in two tiers. The Palladium was the first cinema in Durham to be given permission for Sunday evening performances although the programme had to be approved by both the Chief Constable and the Bishop of Durham.
Fate of the Cinema:
It was damaged by fire on 16th January 1934 but reopened on 5th March the same year with Leslie Henson in “It’s A Boy”. It was again renovated in 1967 re-opening with “The Bible-In the Beginning”. Closed as a Cinema by 1976 it then continued it's new life as a Bingo Hall up to 1982 when it gained a new lease of life as a Church, and stayed this way until it's final closure in 2004. In 2015 planning permission was granted for the demolition of the cinema and adjoining buildings to make way for new student accommodation.
Site Links:
Frontage when derelict 9/4/2011
Cinema Treasures/William Mewes – Reproduced under Creative Commons (Attribution) License
Location Accuracy: Accurate
Information below is taken from The Kinematograph Yearbooks. The Page reference is from the following year’s edition, when information appeared. Additional information is in italics
| Year | Ownership | Population | Seating Capacity | Other cinemas in town | Manager | Shows per day | Changes Weekly | Prices | Variety/ Screen | Sound System | Other cinemas with sound | Kinematograph Year Book reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 18000 | 7 | 435 | ||||||||
| 1930 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 18000 | 5 | WE | 0 | 393 | ||||||
| 1931 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 16223 | 5 | 3 - 1 on Sun | 6d - 1s | WE | 3 | 408 | ||||
| 1932 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 16223 | 6 | 6d - 1s | WE | 2 | 437 | |||||
| 1933 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 16223 | 6 | 3 | 6d - 1s 3d | WE | 3 | 463 | ||||
| 1934 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 16223 | 7 | 3 | 6d - 1s 3d | WE | All | 482 | ||||
| 1935 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 16223 | 1088 | 7 | 3 | 6d - 1s | Proscenium width 27' | WE | All | 495 | ||
| 1936 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 16223 | 1087 | 7 | 3 | 6d - 1s | Proscenium width 27' | WE | All | 545 | ||
| 1937 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 16223 | 1087 | 7 | 3 | 6d - 1s | Proscenium width 27' | WE | All | 568 | ||
| 1938 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 16223 | 1087 | 7 | 3 | 6d - 1s | Proscenium width 27' | WE | All | 551 | ||
| 1939 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 16.223 | 1087 | 6 | 6d - 1s | Proscenium width 27' | WE | All | 488 | |||
| 1940 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 16223 | 1087 | 8 | 3 | 6d - 1s | Proscenium width 27' | WE | All | 456 | ||
| 1941 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 16223 | 1087 | 9 | 3 | 6d - 1s | WE | All | 455 | |||
| 1942 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 16223 | 1087 | 10 | 3 | 6d - 1s | WE | All | 437 | |||
| 1943 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 16223 | 1087 | 10 | 3 | 6d - 1s 6d | WE | All | 442 | |||
| 1944 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 16223 | 1087 | 6 | 3 | 6d - 2s 3d | WE | All | 401 | |||
| 1945 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 16223 | 1087 | 6 | 3 | 6d - 2s 3d | WE | All | 447 | |||
| 1946 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 16223 | 1087 | 9 | 3 | 6d - 2s 3d | WE | All | 283 | |||
| 1947 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 16223 | 1087 | 9 | 3 | 6d - 2s 3d | WE | All | 297 | |||
| 1948 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 16223 | 1087 | 9 | 3 | 6d - 2s 3d | WE | All | 310 | |||
| 1949 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 19220 | 1087 | 8 | 3 | 10d - 2s 3d | WE | All | 315 | |||
| 1950 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 19220 | 1087 | 8 | 3 | 10d - 2s 3d | WE | All | 305 | |||
| 1951 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 19220 | 1087 | 7 | Continuous | WE | All | 287 | ||||
| 1952 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 19220 | 1087 | 8 | Continuous | WE | 285 | |||||
| 1953 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 19220 | 1087 | 8 | Continuous | WE | 282 | |||||
| 1954 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 19220 | 1087 | 8 | Continuous | WE | 269 | |||||
| 1955 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 19220 | 1087 | 8 | Continuous | CinemaScope | WE | 262 | ||||
| 1956 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 20440 | 1087 | 8 | Continuous | CinemaScope | WE | 262 | ||||
| 1957 | ||||||||||||
| 1958-59 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 20440 | 1087 | 8 | Continuous | CinemaScope | WE | 264 | ||||
| 1960 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 20440 | 1087 | 7 | Continuous | CinemaScope | WE | 290 | ||||
| 1961 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 20440 | 7 | WE | 276 | |||||||
| 1962 | ||||||||||||
| 1963 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 20440 | 7 | WE | 269 | |||||||
| 1964 | ||||||||||||
| 1965 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 20440 | 7 | WE | 275 | |||||||
| 1966 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd | 20440 | 3 | WE | 265 | |||||||
| 1967 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd? | 20440 | 3 | WE | 249 | |||||||
| 1968 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd? | 20440 | 3 | WE | 240 | |||||||
| 1969 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd? | 20440 | 3 | WE | 230 | |||||||
| 1970 | Palladium (Durham) Ltd? | 20440 | 3 | WE | 234 |