I visited this hall several times in the early 1960s to undertake holiday relief sessions.The hall seemed to have a different manager every time I was there. Two of the managers that I can recall were a Mr.Northcott and a Mr.Derrick.
Mr. Northcott, who was in his mid sixties at this time, used to temporarily surface in many of Jackson Withers Cardiff and Valley halls.I never saw him in the Swansea area. I believe that he did nothing but relief managing on a short term basis. Mr. Derrick was quite different.He too was probably in his sixties but was the exact opposite to the dour Mr. Northcott. I can recall seeing Mr. Derrick at a number of the Cardiff and Rhondda Valley halls where he functioned as a relief manager.Mr.Derrick was one of the most knowledgeable people, where cinemas were concerned, that I ever met.He had managed and operated a number of halls and knew the business backwards.Where ever he was working, he would always visit the box in the mornings both for a cup of tea and because he just enjoyed talking cinema.He was a good friend of Bill Dempsey a Withers relief chief projectionist.These two gentlemen had worked together at several cinemas in the West of England.
In the 1880’s there was a well known business man in Cardiff named Solomon Andrews.He had his fingers into everything including railways, trams and other public utilities. Solomon died circa 1908 and his extensive and business was continued by his son Francis.
Francis Andrews was well known for his interest in theatres, bioscopes and later cinemas.The headquarters for the Andrews family business was at City Road, Cardiff. However, during my days at Warner Pathe I can recall bookings for the Andrews cinemas being made from the Central Cinema located at the Hayes in Cardiff.
I am almost certain that bookings for the Castle Cinema at Caerphilly were made via the Central Cinema. Thus I would suggest that the Castle Cinema was one of Francis Andrews pre First World War ventures into the theatre/bioscope/cinema business. In 1913 film presentations were often just ancillary entertainment that were used to compliment stage shows.
Re reading entries about this hall has jogged my memory further. I did occasional jobbing sessions at this venue around 1960/61. At that time the chief projectionist was a gentleman named Malcolm. It was obvious that the hall had been purpose built for film presentations – there was the usual iron ladder exit at the back of the box to enable projectionists to escape if the inflammable film of the early cinema years caught fire.
I can recall being shown the screen end of the hall which included a scope screen that had been brought forward at the time of installation.
Even with this forward screen, there was still a large stage area in front of the screen. The entrance to the rear of the stage, ex the auditorium, was via door on the right hand side. At the back of the stairs leading to the stage was another sealed off door. Painted on the wall next to this door were some stage instructions and an arrow labeled ‘Dressing Room’. Thus I would suggest that the Castle was constructed more as a dual purpose theatre / cinema rather than as a pure cinema. However, on my few visits to the hall I can never remember any one mentioning that stage shows had taken place there.
The Workmens'Hall probably contained some of the most uncomfortable seats in cinema history. The front rows of the stall area were formed of metal framed seating that possessed wooden backs and bases. Patrons spending two hours on one of these seats were rumoured to come out of the hall looking like cripples.
It was only the introduction of part time bingo that finally led to the replacement of the notorious ‘Death Seats’ with more comfortable , albeit, secondhand seating.
Both the Castle and the Workmens' Hall had maintenance contracts with Western Electric.In 1960 the local engineer was a rather aged person named Mr. Totterdale – known to all as “Taff’s Well Totty”. He had been working with Kalee equipment since his youth and was believed to know more of the ins and outs of Kalee’s antique machines than anyone else in the business.
The reading room and other institute offices were very small, being located at the rear of the hall in a block that backed up to the screen. The institute possessed a separate back entrance which did not connect with the front cinema entrance. The most popular welfare facility was the reading room which displayed a range of daily newspapers and magazines plus boasting excellent heating in the winters.It was a popular destination for retired miners to chat and cough their winters away whilst awaiting the daily visits of the local bookies runners.
This hall was not in competition with the Castle Cinema after 1958 as both halls were owned by the same Miners' Welfare Committee. The offices of the Welfare Association, post 1958, were located at the Castle Cinema on the right hand side of the main entrance. The secretary and de facto overall director of the Miners' Welfare Association (circa 1960) was a gentleman named Dai Waters.
The Workmens' Hall was built and paid for by the Miners' Welfare Association on what can only be described as a shoe string budget. Its box equipment was basic , consisting of two Kalee 11 heads with Regal Arcs plus two dimmers controlling house lights and footies.
The equipment was simple to operate and for this reason only one projectionist was employed.The neighbouring Castle Cinema was more demanding and required two projectionists to provide a quality performance.For many years the sole projectionist at the Welfare was a gentleman named Mal who was a local legend, amongst jobbing projectionists, as far as his crash presentations were concerned.
This very useful entry adds information to the existing entry for the Castle Cinema which was made some time ago.Would it be possible for Ken Roe to merge the two entries?
The box at the Monico ran almost the full width of the cinema. It consisted of an entrance to the left of the balcony that went up to a passage, beside the rectifier room, to the box proper. At the left hand side of the box was the rewind room. From the rewind room there was a door that led out onto an extensive balcony area that gave great views of Whitchurch and Rhiwbina. On the left hand side of the balcony was an iron ladder, going down to the car park, that dated from the inflammable film days. Its function was to provide an escape route for projectionists if the box caught fire.
I have just looked at some photographs taken after the hall’s twinning and note that the ladder had been removed by that time.
This was one of the nicer cinemas in the Swansea Valley. However, its location at the top of the valley meant that it could only draw patronage from the immediate area of Abercrave and Penycae.
The main problem being that the last buses for Ystradgynlais and district left earlier in the evenings, usually before the film presentation had ended – thus making a Saturday night out at the Abercrave hall well nigh impossible for the majority of the local people who did not own cars at that time.
I can remember watching “The Robe” at this hall and having to hitch my way home afterwards to Ynysmeadwy. My mother was extremely annoyed when I arrived home at midnight.After that episode I was only allowed to visit the cinemas in Ystalyfera and Pontardawe.
The main alteration to the hall has been the leveling of the stalls area to provide a general purpose hall that can be used for a variety of purposes including formal dinners. The balcony is still as it was in the hall’s cinema days.
Local legend has it that in its silent film days the ‘White Palace’ like most other small halls used a piano to accompany its presentations. The accompanist at the Palace for many years was Nancy Williams who later became Nancy Arthur of Taffs Well. The lady apparently attracted much critical attention in Whitchurch by purchasing an Indian model motorcycle which she used to travel from home to work. At that time it was not thought right for a lady to own, let alone ride, such a machine.
The holiday camp site was sold for £2.25m to Vale of Glamorgan Council, in October 1997, who demolished the camp and sold it to Bovis Homes for housing development. Now known as Bryn Llongwr, two, three, four and five bedroom houses were built on the site between 2002 and 2003
The local newspaper reveals that in September 1934 the Pavilion was running one show a night with the doors opening at 6.45pm and the show starting at 7.15pm.Seats were 6d, 9d and 1/–. There was also a childrens' matinee on Saturday afternoons that differed from the later evening performance. The manager at that time was Mr. Jimmie James.
The demolition of the Palace Cinema commenced on the 25th of January 2000. The site has been acquired by the Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association who are proposing to construct flats on the site.
It is a probability that at some time in its existence the Pictorium was operated as the Empire Pictorium. Reference: Cinema Treasures entry for the Aberdare Cinema, Aberdare.
I spent much of my childhood, during the late 1940s / early 1950s, at Ynysmeadwy a village near to Ystalyfera. I knew the South Wales Voice offices and printing works quite well but at that time never associated it with having been a former cinema. I last saw the building in 1970 and even then it looked like an old fashioned print works , giving no hint of its former use.
Local legend has it that Ebenezer Rees was the grandfather of Donald Peers the well known 1950s singer of “Babbling Brook” fame. Several people have claimed that the young Donald Peers worked at the print shop and in the cinema on Saturdays and during his school holidays.
This was one of the few valley cinemas to install and retain BTH integral projectors throughout its working existence. These BTH machines were amongst the most difficult of machines to use as far as projectionists were concerned.
I agree with the 1962 date for the supermarket opening. The store was well established when I was in Bath about a year later. Can Ken Roe alter the closing date given above?
Correction: The former Grand Cinema building is now offices and a telephone exchange. It does not contain a restaurant.
I visited this hall several times in the early 1960s to undertake holiday relief sessions.The hall seemed to have a different manager every time I was there. Two of the managers that I can recall were a Mr.Northcott and a Mr.Derrick.
Mr. Northcott, who was in his mid sixties at this time, used to temporarily surface in many of Jackson Withers Cardiff and Valley halls.I never saw him in the Swansea area. I believe that he did nothing but relief managing on a short term basis. Mr. Derrick was quite different.He too was probably in his sixties but was the exact opposite to the dour Mr. Northcott. I can recall seeing Mr. Derrick at a number of the Cardiff and Rhondda Valley halls where he functioned as a relief manager.Mr.Derrick was one of the most knowledgeable people, where cinemas were concerned, that I ever met.He had managed and operated a number of halls and knew the business backwards.Where ever he was working, he would always visit the box in the mornings both for a cup of tea and because he just enjoyed talking cinema.He was a good friend of Bill Dempsey a Withers relief chief projectionist.These two gentlemen had worked together at several cinemas in the West of England.
In the 1880’s there was a well known business man in Cardiff named Solomon Andrews.He had his fingers into everything including railways, trams and other public utilities. Solomon died circa 1908 and his extensive and business was continued by his son Francis.
Francis Andrews was well known for his interest in theatres, bioscopes and later cinemas.The headquarters for the Andrews family business was at City Road, Cardiff. However, during my days at Warner Pathe I can recall bookings for the Andrews cinemas being made from the Central Cinema located at the Hayes in Cardiff.
I am almost certain that bookings for the Castle Cinema at Caerphilly were made via the Central Cinema. Thus I would suggest that the Castle Cinema was one of Francis Andrews pre First World War ventures into the theatre/bioscope/cinema business. In 1913 film presentations were often just ancillary entertainment that were used to compliment stage shows.
Re reading entries about this hall has jogged my memory further. I did occasional jobbing sessions at this venue around 1960/61. At that time the chief projectionist was a gentleman named Malcolm. It was obvious that the hall had been purpose built for film presentations – there was the usual iron ladder exit at the back of the box to enable projectionists to escape if the inflammable film of the early cinema years caught fire.
I can recall being shown the screen end of the hall which included a scope screen that had been brought forward at the time of installation.
Even with this forward screen, there was still a large stage area in front of the screen. The entrance to the rear of the stage, ex the auditorium, was via door on the right hand side. At the back of the stairs leading to the stage was another sealed off door. Painted on the wall next to this door were some stage instructions and an arrow labeled ‘Dressing Room’. Thus I would suggest that the Castle was constructed more as a dual purpose theatre / cinema rather than as a pure cinema. However, on my few visits to the hall I can never remember any one mentioning that stage shows had taken place there.
The Workmens'Hall probably contained some of the most uncomfortable seats in cinema history. The front rows of the stall area were formed of metal framed seating that possessed wooden backs and bases. Patrons spending two hours on one of these seats were rumoured to come out of the hall looking like cripples.
It was only the introduction of part time bingo that finally led to the replacement of the notorious ‘Death Seats’ with more comfortable , albeit, secondhand seating.
Both the Castle and the Workmens' Hall had maintenance contracts with Western Electric.In 1960 the local engineer was a rather aged person named Mr. Totterdale – known to all as “Taff’s Well Totty”. He had been working with Kalee equipment since his youth and was believed to know more of the ins and outs of Kalee’s antique machines than anyone else in the business.
The reading room and other institute offices were very small, being located at the rear of the hall in a block that backed up to the screen. The institute possessed a separate back entrance which did not connect with the front cinema entrance. The most popular welfare facility was the reading room which displayed a range of daily newspapers and magazines plus boasting excellent heating in the winters.It was a popular destination for retired miners to chat and cough their winters away whilst awaiting the daily visits of the local bookies runners.
This hall was not in competition with the Castle Cinema after 1958 as both halls were owned by the same Miners' Welfare Committee. The offices of the Welfare Association, post 1958, were located at the Castle Cinema on the right hand side of the main entrance. The secretary and de facto overall director of the Miners' Welfare Association (circa 1960) was a gentleman named Dai Waters.
The Workmens' Hall was built and paid for by the Miners' Welfare Association on what can only be described as a shoe string budget. Its box equipment was basic , consisting of two Kalee 11 heads with Regal Arcs plus two dimmers controlling house lights and footies.
The equipment was simple to operate and for this reason only one projectionist was employed.The neighbouring Castle Cinema was more demanding and required two projectionists to provide a quality performance.For many years the sole projectionist at the Welfare was a gentleman named Mal who was a local legend, amongst jobbing projectionists, as far as his crash presentations were concerned.
This very useful entry adds information to the existing entry for the Castle Cinema which was made some time ago.Would it be possible for Ken Roe to merge the two entries?
The box at the Monico ran almost the full width of the cinema. It consisted of an entrance to the left of the balcony that went up to a passage, beside the rectifier room, to the box proper. At the left hand side of the box was the rewind room. From the rewind room there was a door that led out onto an extensive balcony area that gave great views of Whitchurch and Rhiwbina. On the left hand side of the balcony was an iron ladder, going down to the car park, that dated from the inflammable film days. Its function was to provide an escape route for projectionists if the box caught fire.
I have just looked at some photographs taken after the hall’s twinning and note that the ladder had been removed by that time.
This was one of the nicer cinemas in the Swansea Valley. However, its location at the top of the valley meant that it could only draw patronage from the immediate area of Abercrave and Penycae.
The main problem being that the last buses for Ystradgynlais and district left earlier in the evenings, usually before the film presentation had ended – thus making a Saturday night out at the Abercrave hall well nigh impossible for the majority of the local people who did not own cars at that time.
I can remember watching “The Robe” at this hall and having to hitch my way home afterwards to Ynysmeadwy. My mother was extremely annoyed when I arrived home at midnight.After that episode I was only allowed to visit the cinemas in Ystalyfera and Pontardawe.
The main alteration to the hall has been the leveling of the stalls area to provide a general purpose hall that can be used for a variety of purposes including formal dinners. The balcony is still as it was in the hall’s cinema days.
I am advised that the hall was demolished in June 2001.
The TSB Bank has now been replaced with a coffee shop.
Local legend has it that in its silent film days the ‘White Palace’ like most other small halls used a piano to accompany its presentations. The accompanist at the Palace for many years was Nancy Williams who later became Nancy Arthur of Taffs Well. The lady apparently attracted much critical attention in Whitchurch by purchasing an Indian model motorcycle which she used to travel from home to work. At that time it was not thought right for a lady to own, let alone ride, such a machine.
The holiday camp site was sold for £2.25m to Vale of Glamorgan Council, in October 1997, who demolished the camp and sold it to Bovis Homes for housing development. Now known as Bryn Llongwr, two, three, four and five bedroom houses were built on the site between 2002 and 2003
For many years this cinema was known locally as the “Dingle Cinema”.
This was one of the few cinemas equipped with Bell and Howell projectors.
The Capitol received its first cinematograph licence in 1934.
The local newspaper reveals that in September 1934 the Pavilion was running one show a night with the doors opening at 6.45pm and the show starting at 7.15pm.Seats were 6d, 9d and 1/–. There was also a childrens' matinee on Saturday afternoons that differed from the later evening performance. The manager at that time was Mr. Jimmie James.
The demolition of the Palace Cinema commenced on the 25th of January 2000. The site has been acquired by the Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association who are proposing to construct flats on the site.
It is a probability that at some time in its existence the Pictorium was operated as the Empire Pictorium. Reference: Cinema Treasures entry for the Aberdare Cinema, Aberdare.
Legend has it that the building used to house the Theatr Mwldan was formerly a slaughter house
I spent much of my childhood, during the late 1940s / early 1950s, at Ynysmeadwy a village near to Ystalyfera. I knew the South Wales Voice offices and printing works quite well but at that time never associated it with having been a former cinema. I last saw the building in 1970 and even then it looked like an old fashioned print works , giving no hint of its former use.
Local legend has it that Ebenezer Rees was the grandfather of Donald Peers the well known 1950s singer of “Babbling Brook” fame. Several people have claimed that the young Donald Peers worked at the print shop and in the cinema on Saturdays and during his school holidays.
This was one of the few valley cinemas to install and retain BTH integral projectors throughout its working existence. These BTH machines were amongst the most difficult of machines to use as far as projectionists were concerned.
I agree with the 1962 date for the supermarket opening. The store was well established when I was in Bath about a year later. Can Ken Roe alter the closing date given above?