Empire Cinema

In the small town of Ushaw Moor, to the west of Durham, the Empire Cinema opened on 22nd November 1912. It had 808 seats, a 20ft wide proscenium, a 30ft deep stage and two dressing rooms. It presented ‘Pictures and Variety’.

By 1931, and at least until 1940, the lessee and general manager was J. Hateley. The first sound system, Electrocord was replaced, by 1936, by British Thomson Houston(BTH) equipment. By 1940 the seating capacity had been reduced to 650.

It is not known when the Empire Cinema closed (it was not listed in the 1953 Kinematograph Year Book). In 1963 it was converted into a bingo club, with a pub in the front.

By 2004 the building was home to The Winnings Function Rooms, with a snooker hall on the upper floor.

It was demolished in October 2008 in a redevelopment project that also saw the demolition of the Ushaw Moor Working Men’s Club, which had been host to the Club Hall Cinema from 1920 to 1958.

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