Lyric Cinema

In the Chadderton suburb of Oldham, the Reform Club was built in 1892. The complex included a large hall on the upper floor, which became the Free Trade Hall.

It is not known when full-time film shows started (there is no entry in the 1914 Kinematograph Year Book) but the Free Trade Hall is listed in the 1927 edition, by which time the proprietor was Alfred Wright and there were two shows nightly. The projection box had been built outside the main building, over the roof of an adjoining building, and was reached via an outside stairway.

By 1932 Western Electric(WE) sound had been installed and the Free Trade Hall had been renamed the Lyric Cinema.

CinemaScope was installed during the 1950’s, but the Lyric Cinema closed around 1961. There was a fire, but it is not clear whether that was the reason the cinema closed, especially as it does not appear to have been unduly serious, as the Reform Club continued on the ground floor until around 1973.

In due course the building was demolished and the site became a car park.

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