THE PALACE CINEMA, KNOTTINGLEY
by Dr. Terry Spencer B.A. (hons) Ph D.
Revised and re-written, June 1999, from the original
version of June 1991
Dedicated to the memory of my dear wife, Barbara
Spencer (1935 –1999)
A
report in the local press dated 4th October 1912 stated;
"A
site has been acquired in Aire Street, Knottingley, on which it is
intended to erect a permanent picture hall. The entertainment’s to be
given will be well conducted and are to be of high class order to secure
the patronage of all classes. The contracts for the work are about to be
let and the building will be commenced at once and carried on with all
speed."
The
new cinema, one of the earliest purpose-built picture houses in the
country, was situated on an oblique strip of land some 560 square yards in
extent, adjacent to Ship Lane at the junction with lower Aire Street. The
hall was designed to seat 600 people: 500 in the area and 100 in the
balcony. The building had sloping floors to facilitate unobstructed
viewing and also had permanently fixed tip-up seats. To ensure maximum
safety the building was designed with separate entrances and exits. The
design featured a promenade with a refreshment buffet and the screen area
incorporated a stage platform with adjoining dressing rooms to enable ‘live’
shows to be given. Indeed, such shows were a regular feature at the Palace
during the early years with talent contests and other entertainment’s
taking place between the films, the cinema pianist accompanying the
performers.
Constructed
of red brick with sandstone facings, the cinema presented an imposing
facade. A central entrance and reception area was flanked by sturdy
rectangular turrets, slightly offset for visual effect, creating an
impression of bulky strength and drawing the eye towards the entrance and
the interior of the building. The roof was of blue slate and the front of
the cinema had a narrow forecourt which was encompassed by iron railings
about five feet in height, with gates which slid open to either side of
the centralised entrance. It is of interest to note that although the
façade of the cinema stood square-on to Aire Street, the lie of the land
on which the building was constructed dictated that the auditorium lay at
an angle to the frontage, a fact which was largely obscured by the
skillfully designed facade.
The
cinema was built at the behest of a company registered under the title of
Knottingley Picture Palace Ltd., on land belonging to one Benjamin Braim,
a local joiner who resided at the opposite side of Aire Street at a point
near the junction with Cow Lane. The company, with Fred Calverley and
George Braim as directors and John E. Lunn as Secretary, took out a
99-year lease on the land and property from the 1st April 1913 at an
annual rent of £17. The cinema was the designated office of the company
and the residential manager was Mr. H.B. Edwardes (sic) with a Mr. Tinkler
as the general manager. The first licensed cinematographic performance at
the Palace was undertaken in the name of Mr. Fred Calverley on the 25th
February 1913.
Reporting
a full house for the first performance, the Pontefract & Castleford
Express stated; "The
Management are to be complimented upon their choice pictures for the
opening week."
In
his opening speech, Mr. Tinkler assured the public that, "..none
but the best educational and entertaining pictures were to be shown."
How
true the statement was, may perhaps be judged from the titles of the films
featured during the following week. Performances on Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday consisted of ‘Builders of the Empire’ (not as one may
conject, a glorification of Imperialism, but a Western drama) and ‘Grandfather’,
described without intentional irony as a "pathetic picture". ‘Love,
Luck and Gasoline’, a romantic love story, together with several
short comedy films ensured value for money entertainment. The second half
of the week was no less entertaining with ‘The Reformation of Broncho
Billy’ and ‘Lost Years’ being supplemented by "some
good comics". Unfortunately, we are denied analysis of further
programmes for apart from that single instance the Palace does not appear
to have undertaken any press advertising during the first dozen years of
its existence. No doubt the novelty value of the new form of public
entertainment was a reason why it was considered unnecessary to advertise
too widely especially given the close nature of the local community at
that period, plus the fact that most businesses valued and relied upon
personal recommendation. In addition, as Dr. Taylor has noted, picture
houses were mushrooming in neighbouring localities at that time as local
businessmen sought outlets for their surplus capital, with film theatres
and skating rinks being front runners. The year 1912 seems to have been a
particularly fecund year with no less than four cinemas opening in
Castleford alone in the inaugural year of the Palace. "Peoples
Popular Prices" of 2d., 4d., and 6d., were charged for the once
nightly shows which commenced at 7.45, Monday to Friday. On Saturdays
there were two evening performances, at 6.45 and 8.45, plus a matinee at
2.30pm.
The
opening of the Palace was not however, the first occasion on which films
had been shown at Knottingley, nor yet even shown on a regular basis.
Before that time itinerant showmen using portable projection apparatus had
shown silent films to local audiences at the annual ‘Feast’ or at
other venues within the town.
The
filmed records of the Diamond Jubilee in 1897 followed thereafter by the
funeral of Queen Victoria in 1901, had, despite poor technical quality,
aroused immense interest in the new medium and indicated the potential of
cinematography as a serious vehicle for public information and
entertainment. Thus, by the middle of the first decade of the twentieth
century companies were being established to produce and distribute films
on a commercial basis. Apart from Knottingley Town Hall, which provided a
regular venue for film shows up to 1925, similar entertainment was
provided by James Holgate, licensee of the Wagon & Horses Inn, Aire
Street, until 1912. Another venue for regular weekly performances was the
Congregational Schoolroom where every Saturday evening the ‘Happy Hours
Picture Hall’ promised; "Excellent
and up to date cinematograph pictures [with] illustrated songs."
The price of admission was 2d. for children if accompanied by parents.
The promise was evidently fulfilled for the local paper reported that; "There
was a good attendance in the Congregational Schoolroom on Saturday evening
and an excellent cinematograph entertainment. The pictures shown were ‘A
Trip to Bombay’ and ‘Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night’ (sic)
The
chemical composition of the film stock was however, highly volatile,
rendering its use a potential safety hazard. In addition to the fire risk
were dangers of overcrowding, temporary and makeshift seating and
insufficient egress. Children were frequently admitted to shows
unaccompanied, their admittance often procured by presenting an empty jam
jar in lieu of money. The reality of the danger had been brought home on
the 11th January 1908 when sixteen children had been crushed to death as
the result of a fire, which had occurred during a film show in the public
hall at Barnsley. To ensure public safety the Cinematograph Act of 1909
decreed that all buildings in which public film shows were given were
henceforth to be subject to annual licensing by the local authority. As a
result, many previously used venues were denied a license and by 1913
further tightening up of the Act resulted in a spate of purpose-built
cinemas such as the Palace, being constructed.
The
grim years of the Great War and its bleak economic aftermath ensured the
success of the cinema as a form of cheap, popular, if somewhat
unsophisticated entertainment. It would appear that a ready audience
existed at Knottingley for apart from the dissemination of programme
information in the form of handbills and posters distributed throughout
the town and its near neighbourhood, as noted above, no attempt was made
to attract a wider audience via press advertising before 1925.
Details
concerning the tenancy of the cinema during the early years of its
existence are sparse but it is recorded that by 1914 the licensee was Mr.
J Harris. Harris was the head of a very talented family of musicians who
made a living as itinerant entertainers, appearing regularly in summer
shows at Bridlington in the years prior to the Great War. The family
residence was at Hill Top, Knottingley, but the Palace served as a
business address, featuring on all their publicity material which suggest
that the cinema served as a booking agency.
It would appear that Harris regarded cinematography as an alternative source
of income for in addition to his tenure at the Palace he held a licence to
provide picture shows at the Town Hall until 1920. Despite the
ever-growing popularity of cinema as a form of entertainment Harris
decided to divest himself of his cinema interests shortly after the end of
the war. The cinema had provided a regular source of supplementary income,
particularly at the onset of the war when there may have been doubt about
the viability of live entertainment but the exigencies of war had made
unforeseen demands on Harris and his family. Harris’s daughter, Millie,
now a sprightly 96 year old resident of New South Wales, Australia, has
revealed how at the age of eleven she was called upon at short notice to
improvise musical accompaniments for the silent films following the
enlistment of the cinema’s regular pianist.
Shortly
after the conclusion of the war, Harris, aware of the resurgent demand for
all forms of entertainment as the antithesis of the years of conflict with
their grim aftermath, divested himself of his cinema interests. He quit
Knottingley and took the family act ‘on the road’, appearing
throughout Britain and Europe before eventually embarking for more distant
parts of the Empire.
In
1920 the R.T.A Company obtained the tenancy of the Palace, together with
the licence for the Town Hall where pictures continued to be shown until
1925.
The
R.T.A. Company had its origins in or about 1917 when John Arthur Rowley, a
rag merchant of Victoria Works, Batley, met Walter Townend, a fellow rag
merchant based at Ossett. The two men were looking for means to invest
surplus capital and decided to form the Victoria Picture Company, which
ran the Star and Empress cinemas at Castleford. The pair then met Elliot
Aspinall of Castleford and in 1920 formed R.T.A (the company name being
formed from the initial letters of the surname of each partner) to build
and run the Picture House, Castleford.
There
are indications that suggest a period of economic reorganisation followed.
In December 1921, the R.T.A. holding in the Grand Cinema, Normanton, was
sold to Albert and Donald Wood and on the 6th February 1922, R.T.A sold
its interest in the Palace, Knottingley. The new leaseholder was Albert
Wilcock of Wakefield Road, Pontefract, who paid £4,600 for the residual
rights of the 99-year lease of 1913.
Wilcock
appears to have been a transient figure, for by the following month the
Palace lease was held in the joint names of Percy Woodcock and J.M. Scott,
Pontefract businessmen.
Woodcock,
a joiner of Park Lane and James Mountain Scott, a wholesale potato and
game merchant, obtained the leasehold on the Palace on the 20th March 1922
for the sum of £6,000. The substantial financial gain allied to the rapid
resale of the Palace lease suggest that Wilcock’s interest in the cinema
was purely speculative although he is designated as a "picture house
proprietor" in legal documents.
Three
years later Woodcock’s half share was acquired by J. & G. Howdle of
Knottingley. An indenture dated 2nd February 1925, reveals that George
Howdle became Scott’s partner when a half share was assigned to him by
Percy Woodcock and his wife, Edith. Howdle’s half share cost him £2,000
of which £600 was borrowed from his sister-in-law, Jean (nee Arnold) who
had some years previously been the organist at the Congregational Chapel,
Knottingley, and had provided the accompaniment for films shown in the
chapel rooms.
The
partnership with Scott continued until November 1927, when it was formally
dissolved, Howdle paying Scott £3,000 for his share. To enable the
transaction to be undertaken Howdle borrowed £2,000 from the Midland
Bank, mortgaging the cinema and also surrendering a life policy with a
value of £500 as security for the loan. In addition, Howdle borrowed a
further £1,000 from his sister-in-law to whom he granted a second
mortgage.
Howdle’s
interest in cinematography appears to have been kindled during the
previous decade when he was the manager of both Knottingley Town Hall and
the Palace Cinema at the time film shows were shown by Mr. Harris and his
successors although he was also involved in the film shows at the
Congregational Chapel and it is known that he was also interested in
photography.
In
November 1925, the local paper reported;
"Knottingley’s
only film resort, established long ago, is now under the capable
management of Mr. Geo. Howdle, enhancing its reputation for bright, varied
and enjoyable entertainment. Residents have no need to go further afield
to see first class films, as witness the programme arranged for this
coming week."
The
programme in question consisted of ‘Rin-Tin-Tin’, the wonder dog in ‘The
Lighthouse by the Sea’. The main feature was supported by one of a
series of films entitled ‘The Music Masters’, the one shown
portraying the life of Felix Mendelssohn. The programme was shown from
Monday to Wednesday at 7.15 each evening and also a matinee on Monday at
2.30. The latter half of the week featured an entirely changed programme. ‘His
Hour’, based on an Eleanor Glynn novel, was the main film. The
supporting programme was ‘The Surprise Fight’, again one of a
series of films, this one featuring Benny Leonard, a popular boxer of the
period. Evening shows commenced at 7.15 except for Saturdays when there
were two houses, the first at 6.15, followed by the final performance of
the week at 8.45. At that time it was the usual for reels of film shown at
the Palace to be exchanged with those shown at the Hippodrome,
Featherstone. Billy Spires (who later became the Palace projectionist and
afterwards a successful tradesman in Knottingley) had the unenviable job
of cycling in all weathers between the two cinemas to effect the exchange
of the film stock. The possible delays incumbent upon the errand helps to
explain the necessity for ‘live’ entertainment between the films as
well as illustrating the more leisurely pace of life in general at that
time.
With
the advent of the Howdle proprietorship however, a significant change
occurred. The Palace now began to advertise its future programme on a
regular basis in the local press alongside those of other cinemas in the
district. The use of vividly coloured posters within the town continued,
including their display on the premises of local shopkeepers who received
complimentary tickets for such assistance.
The
extent to which newspaper advertising reflected the enterprise of the
Howdle’s or the need to become more competitive in order to ensure
economic viability is conjectural. It must be remembered however, that the
period following the end of the Great War saw the establishment and
expansion of local bus services. A regularised system of public transport
meant a wider potential audience as people from the more rural and
isolated communities around Knottingley were able to avail themselves of
such services to visit the cinema.
With
the introduction of advertising for the cinema, strategically placed
billboards at Hill Top, Weeland Road and Low Green, ensured that
travellers using the main road through Knottingley could not fail to be
aware of the Palace programmes regardless of the direction of the journey.
The
change of management and the wider catchment area afforded the Palace a
new lease of life. The development was further assisted by promotional ’stunts’
designed to increase public awareness of the cinema. Thus, when ‘Dick
Turpin’s Ride’ was shown at the Palace, a local man, George Lightowler,
dressed up as a highwayman and travelled the surrounding area on horseback
to publicise the film. A former resident of the town, who was a small boy
at that time, remembers queues three to four deep stretching as far as the
Flatts when the Howdle’s owned the Palace.
In
1927 however, the cinema industry became subjected to a rapid and dramatic
technological change with the successful launch of ‘The Jazz Singer’,
a part ‘talkie’ featuring the great American entertainer, Al Jolson.
Almost overnight silent films became passe as "all talking-all
singing" sound-tracked films caused cinemas throughout the land to be
wired for sound projection. Late in 1929, the Picture House, Castleford,
announced "the Talkies are coming" as the owner invested £4,000
to install a Powers Cinephone system to enable the public to see and hear
Jolson in ‘The Singing Fool’. A little earlier the Majestic, "Castleford’s
first sound cinema", had broken new ground by installing the rival
Vitaphone system. The public were reported to be"…‘sound
wise’. Radio has turned the ears of the masses to a keen appreciation of
the tone quality in speech, music and song and sound effects."
The
effect of the technical revolution may be seen by reference to other local
cinemas. The issue of the local paper which featured publicity for talking
pictures also reported the purchase of the Grand cinema, Airedale,
following the recent demise of the owner, William Jackson of Hartley Park,
Pontefract. It was stated that the sale by auction elicited ‘little
competition’ with only £1,975 being realised, the cinema being
purchased by Mr. E.C. Briggs of Horsforth, Leeds. Despite a ‘facelift’
which included changing the name of the cinema to the ‘Empire’ closure
took place in Spring 1930. The Crescent cinema, Pontefract, attempted to
gain a breathing space by providing "the
finest orchestra in the district" to
accompany the action of the silent films and also provided "musical
interludes on the grand organ" but
the management had already seen the pattern of the future and announced in
a letter to the ‘Express’ that they "cannot
keep silent any longer and are going to talk."
The
letter disclosed that the sound apparatus was being installed and that
from 30th December 1930, the Western Electric sound system would be
utilised to show ‘Broadway’, followed in subsequent weeks by fifteen
listed talking films.
Meanwhile,
the Palace, offering a form of entertainment which had begun to pall,
attempted to compete with its technologically enhanced neighbours. At a
time of increasing economic depression, the Palace was able to survive by
charging less for admission than the prices charged by ‘sound’
cinemas. Nevertheless, there are indications that the Palace was losing
the battle. The programme advertised for the week commencing 17th February
1930, featured the film ‘Virgin Lips’ starring John Boles, an actor
who had recently attained fame as the star of the sound film ‘The Desert
Song’. The Palace advertisement somewhat ingeniously featured the name
of Boles and ‘The Desert Song’ so prominently that the public could
quite easily have been misled into the belief that the ‘talkies’ had
arrived at Knottingley unannounced.
In
July 1930 however, the local paper announced;
"Knottingley
to Have Its Own Talkies’
"Ever
anxious to provide entertainment of the latest and best type, Mr. G.
Howdle, the proprietor of the Palace, has installed sound machines and ‘talkie
fans’ need not now go further afield for them."
The
first talkie show at the Palace was ‘The Broadway Melody’, which was
shown from Monday to Wednesday, 7th – 9th July and was followed in the
second half of the week by ‘Mickey Mouse’ and the ‘Donovan Affair’.
The new era was marked by a change in the times and number of performances
as well as an increase in the price of admission. Since 1925, the cinema
had featured a matinee on Monday at 2.30, and the evening performances had
been advanced by half an hour to 7.15, a sign perhaps of the shortening of
working hours and the introduction of the continuous shift system adopted
by the local glassworks. Now, however, the performances were pushed back
to 7.30 and a further matinee introduced each Thursday at 2.30. The
matinees on Saturday and Monday continued as before, as did the double
performance on Saturday evenings at 6.30 and 8.45. Seats in the balcony
now cost a shilling with area seats at 9d. and 6d. Admission to the pit
(known to generations of locals as ‘the chicken run’) was 4d. Booking
for any performance was introduced at an additional cost of 3d. per seat.
Half price admission for children was abolished on Mondays unless children
were accompanied by an adult. The latter restriction resulted in keen and
enterprising children waiting near the entrance of the cinema and
requesting passing customers to ‘take them in’ (i.e. to allow
themselves to be accompanied to the pay booth and, having first obtained
the price of admission from the prospective young viewer, gain entry for
both as the putative parent or guardian.)
The
sound system installed at the Palace cost £350, paid for by instalments
for which Howdle found it necessary to overdraw on his bank to the tune of
£200. The apparatus consisted of a pre-recorded soundtrack on a disc. A
deft touch was necessary in order to achieve perfect synchronisation with
the actual film footage. Failure to achieve the requisite degree of
accuracy resulted in a mirth provoking situation guaranteed to transmute
pathos to bathos in an instant. It was for this reason that the Majestic
cinema at Castleford which had prided itself on being "Castleford’s
first sound cinema", when faced with competition from the Picture
House with its technologically superior Powers Cinophone system, had
quickly refitted.
Howdle’s
occupancy of the Palace was one of financial stringency throughout. The
funds required to meet the cost of installing the sound system at the
Palace stretched the financial resources of the proprietors to their
ultimate extent so that when the Howdle’s were faced with competition
from the more advanced Western Electric system installed at the Crescent,
Pontefract, shortly afterwards, they could not afford the necessary luxury
of updating their own recently installed but inferior sound system.
Furthermore, as distributors hired out their films on the basis of the
profitability of each individual cinema, the Palace was at a considerable
disadvantage and was restricted to showing films which had already been
screened at Pontefract and Castleford and frequently viewed by a
significant element of the potential Palace audience.
In
June 1931, the bank called in its debt, forcing the Howdle’s into
voluntary liquidation and as the mortgage agreement conferred power of
sale the bank placed the cinema on the market.
At
the bankruptcy hearing at Wakefield it was stated that Howdle, aged 54,
had gross liabilities of £4,855-16-11 for which he blamed the general
depression of trade and competition from the surrounding towns. In 1929
his total receipts had been £2,612 with a profit of £423. The following
year receipts were £2,338 and profit was £451.
In
December 1931, a new era commenced at the Palace when the cinema was sold
to A & D.H Wood, the licence being transferred to the latter in April
1932.
It
is interesting to note that the Woods purchased the Palace for the sum of
£3,317-10-8, only a little over half the sum which had been paid when the
property had been sold by Albert Wilcock a decade earlier. The reduced
price probably reflects the desire of the vendor, Barclays Bank Ltd., to
sell the property as quickly as possible at a time of universal recession.
With
the ‘talkies’, the Woods’, aware of the scale of the technological
transformation and its consequences for the silent screen, had sold the
Grand cinema at Normanton and following a prudent waiting period to enable
events to confirm their opinion, then purchased the Palace. Under the
proprietorship of the Woods’ the Palace experienced its ‘Golden Age’.
One
of the earliest actions undertaken by the new owners was the refurbishment
of the cinema, including the replacement of the inefficient sound system.
Thus, at a stroke, the economic viability of the Palace was enhanced. The
change occurred at a time when other changes were taking place both within
the film industry and society at large. During the 1930s the studio system
was developing in Britain in the wake of similar events in America. Mass
advertising resulted in the expansion of the movie industry to embrace
supplementary aspects of production such as magazines, competitions,
promotional features and sales service. The combined effect made regular
cinema attendance a sine qua non of social life. The momentum continued
throughout the late 30s and 40s as the public sought escapism from the
anxieties of war and the grim austerity of the post-war period. The boom
in cinema attendance also prompted the purchase of the Featherstone
Hippodrome by the Woods’. More significantly for Knottingley, however,
was their contingency plan to build a second cinema within the town. As
independent proprietors the Woods’ felt vulnerable to the strength of
the competition engendered by the large cinema chains which were then
established. The Woods’ were increasingly aware that the Palace was not
situated on any bus route, a fact which was deemed likely to persuade
potential patrons from outlying areas of the town, such as the Broomhill
and England Lane estates, or adjacent rural districts, to travel to
Pontefract cinemas by means of public transport. Even more alarming was
the possibility that a business rival could develop a second cinema on a
more viable site within Knottingley. The Woods therefore decided to look
round for a more favourable site on which to construct the towns second
cinema.
The
site chosen was a plot situated at the junction of Weeland Road and Spawd
Bone Lane. The plans for the proposed cinema were designed by the
Pontefract based architects Pennington, Hustler & Taylor. The new
cinema was to contain a total of 866 seats comprising 186 front stalls,
448 rear stalls and 232 in the balcony. The interior of the cinema
featured dual gangways, separating blocks of seats to the right and left
of the auditorium from the main centrally situated block, exactly
replicating the lay-out of the Palace. Unlike the Palace, however, access
to the balcony was by a centrally located staircase situated in the lobby
area, lying beyond the foyer. The seats of the balcony were designed in a
triple block arrangement, thus ensuring greater safety than at the Palace
where access to all balcony seats was by a single entrance to each row
from a centrally placed aisle. The triple block arrangement was therefore
less of an irritant to the public by minimising the number of customers
who were required to rise from their seats to facilitate access to empty
seats within any section. As at the Palace, the projection room was
situated at the rear of the balcony, above the foyer, whilst the screen
area featured a stage platform.
All
in all, the similarities with the Palace are striking and bear testimony
to the advanced design of that cinema when erected more than thirty years
earlier. A significant sign of the times, however, was the provision of a
car park for the proposed new cinema. Initially this feature was to occupy
space at the front of the cinema, off Weeland Road, however, following the
recommendation of the W.R.C.C. Planning Office, it was decided to relocate
the car park at the rear of the cinema in order to obviate the possible
obstruction of traffic on the main highway through the town.
The
external appearance of the new cinema was less imposing than that of the
Palace, mirroring the increase in the cost of labour and materials over
three decades as well as current shortages arising from the result of the
Second World War. Nevertheless, the new cinema more obviously reflected
the purpose it was designed to serve, with dual entrances and a central
display area and shops to each side of the entrances. Basically
rectangular, the cinema was designed with a centrally ridged, sloping roof
of blue slate, the proposed body of the building being constructed of red
brick.
Conceived
shortly before the outbreak of the war, the project was however abandoned
despite obtaining official approval and involving an advanced stage of
planning. Construction of the new cinema was never really desired by the
Woods’, being merely a precautionary tactic adopted to forestall
possible moves by rival business concerns. The Woods’ laid their plans
but secretly hoped that the need to implement such plans would never
arise.
The
delay occasioned by the outbreak of World War Two, followed by the
shortage of materials in the immediate post-war period, alleviated the
danger to the Palace from any rival concern and by the time austerity was
giving way to plenty, social conditions were already sufficiently changed
to indicate a pattern of declining cinema attendance, thus making any
rival project unlikely for economic reasons. The project was therefore
abandoned without a single piece of ground ever being disturbed.
Meanwhile,
by the early 1950s, new attractions, particularly television, were
beginning to erode Palace audiences. Many cinemas, especially those in
private ownership, required updating in order to attract the public by
offering maximum comfort and service. Donald Wood had always felt it to be
important to maintain a high standard of decoration and cleanliness within
the cinema and to this end frequently spent more on customer comfort than
his business associates considered necessary.
Following
the relaxation of wartime restrictions there are several indications of
improvements at the Palace. In May 1953, the cinema closed for complete
redecoration and refurbishment. The announcement of the grand re-opening
in the local press revealed a more flexible programme schedule with new
films being shown every two days instead of twice weekly.
In
July 1953, the children’s matinee was switched from 2.10 on Saturday
afternoon to 10.15 on Saturday morning. The measure may have been
introduced to combat the growing coverage of Saturday afternoon sport on
television or merely in the hope of providing something for the children
to do in order to leave mother free to undertake the weekend shopping or
cleaning at a more convenient time than Saturday afternoon provided.
Again, it may have been the holiday season which prompted the change by
providing an opportunity to test the market by means of a brief
experimental period of Saturday morning performances. Whatever the reason,
despite emphasis in the local press concerning the changed time of
performance, by the following month the matinee had reverted to an
afternoon performance.
In
December 1953, Mr. Donald Wood, in failing health, sold the Palace to the
Star Cinemas, (London) Ltd., who shortly before had purchased other local
cinemas including the Crescent and the Alexander at Pontefract in addition
to the New Star at Castleford, which the Star Company had controlled since
1931.
The
Express report stated that the change was effective from Monday 14th
December but there appears to have been a brief period of transition for
the issue of the paper dated 18th December 1953, carried two
advertisements for the Palace. The topmost advert contained details of a
triple bill for the following week whilst an advert placed immediately
below and featuring the Star Company logo, advertised the programme to
mark the ‘Star’ opening on Monday 28th December. The latter date ties
in with the deed of conveyance, which is dated 30th December 1953. The
transaction included an assurance by the vendors that the Weeland Road
site, which was to be sold separately, would not be used for the purpose
originally intended – the construction of a new cinema. A plan of the
Palace site attached to the deed of conveyance also reveals that the land
lying immediately to the rear of the cinema was also owned by the Woods’
and may well have been purchased by them with a view to expanding the size
of the Palace should circumstances have required such development.
To
mark the opening programme under the auspices of the Star Company the film
‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ had been specially obtained. The public
were advised to;
"COME
EARLY AND REMEMBER THE BIG PRICE REDUCTIONS FOR CHILDREN."
Seats
in the circle and back stalls were one shilling and those in the front
stalls were only one penny. Potential patrons were also advised to make a
note of seven other films which were scheduled for showing in the near
future, all in technicolor, the one sphere in which the cinema could
still outshine television.
The
change of ownership was also marked by a change in programme times. Monday
and Saturday retained separate ‘houses’ but henceforth Tuesday to
Friday was to be a continuous performance, commencing at 5.45 each
evening. At the same time it was announced that a ‘Knottingley Young
Citizens’ Matinee Club’ was to be established with effect from the 2nd
January 1954, with two performances at 10.15 and 2.15 on Saturdays. The
children’s matinees had always been a popular feature at the Palace.
During the Howdle ownership the children attending the matinee were each
given a comic. The children in the stalls received a penny number such as
‘Chips’ or ‘Funny Wonder’, whilst those in the balcony were given
a ‘tuppeny coloured’ either ‘Tiger Tim’, ‘Rainbow’, or ‘Bubbles’.
At a later date, Donald Wood provided special matinee performances for
refugee children resident in the camp situated at Pontefract Road,
adjacent to the junction with Sowgate Lane.
The
opening of the new club was performed by Councillor A. Cardwell, J.P,
Chairman of Knottingley Urban District Council. The opening ceremony,
which took place immediately before the inaugural performance, was also
attended by other civic dignitaries. The new management seem to have
attracted the general support of the public for a preface to the Palace
advertisement in the subsequent issue of the local paper stated that;
"Owing
to the overwhelming response to our opening programme, we must apologise
to patrons who may have been inconvenienced DO COME AGAIN – A LITTLE
EARLIER IF POSSIBLE. We are sure you will enjoy our service."
From
the first, the Star management envisaged a break with tradition by
proposing to open the cinema on Sundays. There are only two known
instances of Sunday opening in the previous history of the Palace. The
first was on Boxing Day 1926, when Knottingley Discharged Soldiers &
Sailors Club, by courtesy of J & G Howdle, entertained 104 of the
townships children to a free cinema performance. The second occasion was
one attended by the present writer, circa 1943 (the nature of which he was
then too young to appreciate and is now too old to remember) when the
Palace was opened for a public meeting concerning some aspects of the ‘War-Drive’,
and drew a capacity audience.
On
the 9th December 1954, the Star Cinema Co. Ltd., wrote to Knottingley
Urban District Council requesting that the Council take all necessary
action to permit Sunday cinema opening. At a General Meeting of the
K.U.D.C. on the 3rd February 1954, a decision was taken to convene a
public meeting in Knottingley Town Hall to allow consideration of the
subject. It was simultaneously resolved to despatch a letter to the Home
Office requesting parliamentary approval for Sunday opening under the
terms of the Sunday Entertainment’s Act, 1932. At a subsequent meeting
of the K.U.D.C. held on the 3rd March 1954, the Town Clerk, Mr. S.B. Hill,
presented the result of the vote taken at the public meeting. The number
of votes in favour of Sunday opening was 37, with 28 votes against the
proposal. However, a petition bearing 112 signatures had subsequently been
presented and it was therefore resolved that the whole township be polled
to obtain a clearer view of public opinion concerning the issue. The poll
utilised the full range of local government apparatus, a fact illustrated
by the notice inserted in the middle of the Palace programme advertisement
in the local paper which read;
"SUNDAY CINEMA
Polling
takes place Saturday March 24th, 8.00am to 8.00pm.
Register
your vote in FAVOUR (sic) at your local polling station.
Remember, your vote is vital."
The
poll naturally imposed a financial burden upon the local community and to
mitigate the effect upon the rates the Star Cinema Co., Ltd., offered the
sum of £25 to the local council, which was gratefully accepted.
The
outcome of the poll was 758 for and 280 against Sunday opening, a majority
of 478. Following the poll the documentation was sent to the Home Office
in accordance with standard procedure.
Thus
by popular demand, the Palace commenced Sunday performances. The first
Sunday showing took place on the 16th May 1954, with two ‘houses’, at
5.30 and 7.45. The film shown was ‘Blood and Sand’, starring Tyrone
Power and Rita Heyworth. Also, by public demand, the times of screening
had been changed shortly before, so that from the 5th April, the
performances Monday to Friday inclusive, became continuous, commencing at
5.30 each evening. Saturday retained separate showings at 6.30 and 8.15.
Public
enchantment was however, brief. The extension of the television service
following the establishment of the commercial system in the mid-1950s
coincided with an increase in private car ownership as the result of the
dissemination of public affluence arising from the post-war boom. Such
developments freed the public from the constraints of the previously
observed and generally accepted pattern of leisure activity and thereby
enabled the pursuit of newer forms of pastimes and entertainment. As a
result, cinema attendance rapidly declined. By March 1959, the children’s
matinee had reverted to a single afternoon performance. In a last vain
attempt to catch public favour the Palace resorted to ‘screen
spectaculars’, shown for a whole week at a time. The experiment failed,
however, and on Saturday 3rd December 1960, the last show was given at the
Palace. The final performance consisted of the film ‘Savage Innocents’,
starring Anthony Quinn. The Pontefract and Castleford Express reported;
"TOWN’S ONLY CINEMA CLOSING".
Tomorrow
(Saturday) Knottingley’s only cinema, the 50-year old Palace, is closing
down. It is a far cry from the days when ‘animated pictures’ were
first shown at ‘a penny per head’, to the time when Mrs D. Pearce, a
widow, became manager of the Palace, a year ago for Star Cinema’s Ltd.
Neither
Mrs Pearce nor anyone else would have ventured the opinion that for forty
years the Palace would stand empty and increasingly desolate in appearance
as vandalism and the weather took an increasing toll on the building.
Towards
the end of the 1970s, the Palace was acquired by Mr. J.W Walker of
Lofthouse, the owner of several local cinemas. Brief hopes of a new lease
of life were aroused in 1980 when Mr. Walker received planning permission
to convert the Palace into a bingo and social club. The plan was
abandoned, however, when it was found that the building was too small to
serve the proposed purpose.
The
following year the owner commissioned a feasibility study to consider the
use of the building as a social centre involving a ‘new style’ picture
house in which club members wined and dined whilst being entertained by
video films. The venture was abandoned when the study revealed that the
population shift away from Aire Street during the previous decade meant
that potential members would require parking facilities. The occupants of
the adjacent old and disabled people’s accommodation objected to the
prospect of casual parking with its attendant noise whilst a further
constraint was again doubt as to whether the building was sufficiently
large for the proposed purpose. Consequently, the scheme was abandoned.
Permission was undertaken to develop the site however, and in 1987 the
Palace was offered for sale by auction. Three years later the property was
again placed on the market. The selling agents were Saxtons of Sheffield,
acting on behalf of London based vendors, Intuition Properties who had
purchased the old cinema in 1987. The sale of the property was expected to
realise about £50,000 but at the auction held in Cutler Hall, Sheffield,
on Tuesday 24th April 1990, the highest bids were some £10,000 less than
the reserve price and the property was withdrawn from sale.
In
the last decade several attempts have been made to effect a private sale
with ‘For Sale’ signs affixed to the derelict fabric of the cinema at
periodic intervals but at the time of writing the building remains
desolate and unsold.
Yet,
notwithstanding its derelict state the Palace was recently utilised when
early in 1977, the internationally renowned poet and classicist, Tony
Harrison, chose the site as the venue for his cinematic project, ‘Promethius’
produced under the aegis of the television company, Channel 4.
In
the film, myth and epic poetry are harnessed to contemporary political
developments. The film features a veteran miner, who, following the
destruction of the mining industry, seeks reflective quietude within the
derelict confines of the old cinema, which was the hub of the local
community in the days of his youth. Thus, art mirrored life and brought
the history of the Palace full circle. All that remains is uncertainty
concerning the ultimate fate of the building which, if as it seems most
probable, involves eventual demolition, will close another chapter in the
social history of Knottingley.
©1999
Dr. Terry Spencer.
[Since
the above article was compiled, the Palace cinema has been converted into
two dwellings though only the facade of the original building has been
retained.]
Mrs
Mille Ottignon
In
the Spring of 1997, I was approached by Mr. Ted Boyle of Ackworth who was
seeking information concerning the history of the Palace cinema,
Knottingley. Mr. Boyle had recently returned from holiday in Australia
where, by pure coincidence, he had met a former resident of Knottingley, a
nonogenarian named Mrs Millie Ottignon.
Mrs
Ottignon had recalled that her father had held the lease on the Palace
cinema during the second decade of the twentieth century and Mr. Boyle was
subsequently searching for material about the cinema to send to her.
Millie’s father was none other than Mr. J. Harris, head of the family of
entertainers based at the Palace between 1914 and 1919.
Through
contact with Millie I learned that following the surrender of the lease on
the Palace, Mr. Harris and family embarked upon a theatrical tour of
British and European towns and cities, performing their stage act which
consisted of playing various musical instruments and singing. The act was
a quite incredible one. It began with a fanfare played on five post horns
which was guaranteed to command instant attention. Items on the cello,
harp, violins, concertina’s and four-part harmonic vocalisation
followed, before the act concluded with arrangements for brass
instruments, featuring Millie on the trumpet.
The
act was seen by Sir Ben Fuller, an Australian impresario, who offered the
Harris family a two-year contract to tour his theatres in Australia. En
route, the family broke their journey in order to undertake a tour of
South African theatres.
Eventually,
Mr. Harris decided to retire and settled on a site by the Wonanora River
near Sydney where he spent the remainder of his days fishing. Indeed, the
site became so clearly identified with Harris that it became known as ‘The
Old Mans Bend’, which name it apparently retains to this day.
Following
the retirement of Mr. Harris, Millie and her sister formed a double act
billed simply as ‘Mildred and Connie Harris’. The couple toured India
with their act, which also utilised Millie’s flair for comedy by
including comic routines to supplement the musical items.
It
was whilst performing in a hotel in India that Millie met her future
husband who was a member of the audience one evening. The couple were
eventually married in England but returned to Calcutta where Millie joined
the Calcutta Symphony Orchestra.
The
outbreak of the Second World War prevented Millie returning to England for
the birth of their two sons but when the children were of a suitable age
to travel, the family decided to go to Australia where Mr. Ottignon was
contracted to the Osborne Steel Company.
In
Australia, the Sydney Band Leader, Bob Gibson, persuaded Millie to join
his nationally famous show band. Meanwhile, Millie also undertook
engagements for the Australian Broadcasting Company, playing the harp and
when the late entertainer Liberace, toured Australia in the 1960s, he
engaged Millie as harpist to accompany his piano arrangements.
Upon
the retirement of Mr. Ottignon, the couple settled in Queensland where the
versatile Millie embarked on a new and fairly profitable career as an
artist. Millie specialised in English cottage scenes, which proved to be
very popular with homesick emigres from the ‘Old Country’.
It
was whilst visiting their son Robert, who had settled with his family in
New Zealand, that Millie’s husband died in 1990.
Millie’s
other son, John, owned a property in Buladelah, New South Wales, close to
the residential home at Hawks Nest, where Millie now resides. It was there
that she met Ted Boyle. Notwithstanding the frailties of age, including
near blindness, Millie plays the piano every day and is never happier than
when organising a concert for residents and visitors.
Terry Spencer.
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