Palace Cinema
35 Station Road,
Aldershot,
GU11 1BA
35 Station Road,
Aldershot,
GU11 1BA
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3 new colour photos of the auditorium prior to the conversion for night club use in 1987
New photo added approximately 1921/22 film showing was Queen of Sheba which was released in 1921
New photo added from 1956
New photo added from 1988
New b&w photo added: Auditorium just before final film presentation in 1984
New photo added. Taken about 1950 showing the neon signage and canopy. This cinema is now nearly 103 years old.
New photos added of the restored and redecorated former auditorium of the Palace cinema. The PALACE is now a wedding/conference facility.
The following link will allow you to see photos taken on the opening night and launch of the Palace as a banqueting venue http://www.gethampshire.co.uk/news/local-news/palace-aldershot-welcomes-guests-official-10628075
The Palace has re-opened (December 18th 2015) as a banqueting and entertainment venue. It has been redecorated in a colour scheme similar to that when it was last used as a cinema. The balcony was divided off from the main auditorium by a drop wall when it was used as a music venue and night club. The drop wall has been retained and has large windows that allow sight of the former stalls area. The stage and proscenium are still in place. The new look interior is very pleasing to the eye and every effort has been made to preserve the original decorative scheme and plaster detailing.
Friday November 19 1965
Aldershot News
31 cinema patrons collapse after throat-cutting scene
Thirty one customers to the Palace Cinema, in Aldershot, have fainted in four days this week during the screening of the film The Shocking World.
All were men and they collapsed after the scene in which a knife is apparently pushed through a man’s throat.
The film, a documentary in colour showing aspects of life and violence throughout the world, began its run on Sunday, and by the end of the evening 12 men had fainted.
One needed treatment at Farnham hospital and was detained until Monday, but the others were revived by the manager Mr AHJ Whittle and his staff, and either returned to see the last of the programme or went home.
Since then Mr Whittle has sought help from the St John Ambulance Brigade, which has had personnel on duty at the cinema.
Eight men passed out on Monday and another eight on Tuesday, but on Wednesday the number was reduced to three.
Mr Whittle told our reporter that he and his staff coped with the emergency and have laid in ample stocks of smelling salts.
Newspaper advert for the Palace. All shows accompanied by the Palace Orchestra
Mike Blakemore That’s a great early picture you’ve posted! Must have been taken shortly after the Palace opened in 1910? Have to say it looks a bit ‘shabby’ considering it was newly opened and that the ground floor elevation had not yet been stucco coated. I have to say that is the oldest picture i’ve seen of the dear old Palace.
The Palace needs to be listed as closed. After another revamp & short re birth as a live music venue sadly it closed yet again and is for sale. It would of course be suitable for use as a cinema but unlikely as the Cineworld complex at Westgate at the top of the town & a Vue complex is currently under construction in near by Farnborough, plus, a new cinema is planned for near by Farnham. This will mean that when all the new cinemas open, there will be more screens than at the height of cinema going in the 1930’s. When Odeon closed the former ABC/RITZ/CANNON they stated there was little demand for cinema screens in the area.
new pictures added to photo tab at top of page
Another photo here:–
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/5296329472/
An April 2010 photograph of The Palace, soon after its re-opening:
www.flickr.com/photos/62679849@N00/4561228038/
A November 2007 exterior photograph, as the VOX Nightclub:
http://flickr.com/photos/umdrums/2039144284/
Exterior and interior photos of the Palace can be found here:–
View link
View link
Opened as the Picture Palace Theatre in 1912, it was designed by architect John Priestly Briggs from the office of Frank Matcham & Co. The original seating capacity was 708.
It was still shown as operating as an independent cinema in 1963 and 1965, known as the Palace Cinema with 626 seats. It closed on 12th July 1977 and was sold to Rushmoor Council and was leased out, re-opening on 26th December 1977.
By the time of its final closure with the screening of regular films on 30th September 1985, it had been given Grade II Listed status. It remained derelict until Spring 1989 when plans were put forward to spend £1m on a facelift and conversion into a nightclub. This continues today (2005), under the name of Cheeks Nightclub