Empire Cinema
King Edward Street,
Ashbourne,
DE6 1BW
King Edward Street,
Ashbourne,
DE6 1BW
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Opened in 1912, the Empire Cinema was Ashbourne’s first cinema, located between the bus station and the train station in the centre of the town.
The exterior had an elaborate mock Tudor half timbered frontage, with a central second storey that housed the projection box. The interior was very plain, with exposed steel roof supports and there was seating for 550 on a gently sloping floor.
A second cinema opened in Ashbourne in 1941 (The Elite).
The Empire Cinema closed in 1959 and became a ballroom and community centre.
It has not dramatically changed in appearance over the years, apart losing the Tudor effect timbers which have been replaced by plain timber cladding.
In 2007 film screenings started again and have proved popular.
Contributed by
Woody
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
Some more details and an exterior photograph on the Theatres Trust database here:
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The Empire Cinema Ashbourne, Derbyshire in 1912 Whit Monday – opening day
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As it is today
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press advert from 1948 for the Empire and the Elite which were both run by the same local proprietor Frank S. Bromwich
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some more photos of the empire
from 1914
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/3792648845/
from 1956
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/3792647327/
an undated ariel shot possibly 30’s or 40’s showing the Empire top centre with a painted sign on the rear wall
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/3793479938/