Picture House

In the small Leicestershire village of Markfield, around 1920, the Picture House was built on Main Street, opposite the Red Lion public house, by master builder Edward Chapman and plumber William Geary.

The modest building had a single, second-hand hand-cranked projector, operated by William’s son Victor, with the silent films being accompanied by Miss Taberner on the piano. Apparently the cinema was very popular - despite the noise from rats!

In 1925 the building was converted into a Memorial and Miners' Welfare Institute. Films continued on a part-time basis, run by a Mr Jessop [any relation, I wonder, to the Jessop family that ran the highly successful photography business in Leicester]. Film shows appear to have ended completely around 1950.

The hall is still in use for a variety of village activities and was still there in May 2016. It had been demolished by April 2019 when housing was being built on the site.

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