Palace Cinema

In Sherborne, Dorset, the Palace Cinema opened in 1920. It was owned by Percy Coaker, a prominent local businessman and property developer.

The council had first considered his plans in December 1918. Apparently, the planning sub-committee, meeting monthly, asked for a series of alterations, before the full council made a surprising U-turn and decided his original plans were acceptable after all!

In 1997, long-time resident Mrs Dulcie Minterne recalled (to the Blackmore Vale magazine) that the cinema’s entrance was flanked by two lock-up shops. The auditorium had a single, central aisle, a stage, and there was a modest balcony, with just six rows. The front stalls seating was on benches and the floor was not raked, although three or four rows at the back were on one-foot staging to provide a better view.

There were two sets of tabs, operated manually from the wings. Apparently, the house tabs didn’t quite meet in the middle, so they had to be held together with clips! Two pianists, first a Mrs Richardson, then Harold Sinclair, provided the accompaniment.

Programmes were changed on Mondays and Thursdays, with no performances on Sundays. Shows were nightly, with two shows on Saturday, when there was also a children’s afternoon matinee.

The cinema fell on hard times in late-1923 and early-1924 when a travelling theatre set up in the town. The town clerk was quite concerned, although one councillor maintained that “the cinema should meet the competition by showing better films”. Mrs Minterne recalled that the plays were very enjoyable, especially as the town did not have a live theatre.

Inevitably, the Palace Cinema recovered once the theatre moved on. It was acquired by Rowland Reeves in the mid-1920’s but, rather than converting it for the talkies, he closed it once he had opened the more luxurious Wessex Cinema, later the Carlton (see separate Cinema Treasures entry) in December 1929.

Percy Coaker re-acquired the Palace building and converted it into a furniture store. It was damaged during an air raid in 1940, and at some time largely -if not completely - rebuilt.

Lancasters furniture store occupied the site for many years, but then E. B. Marsh & Son, retailers of household electrical appliances, took over.

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