Empire Cinema

Located in Melbourne, south Derbyshire, at the rear of the Old Tannery on Quick Close. The Empire Cinema was operated by the Sankey Brothers of Church Gresley near Burton-on-Trent. It was opened prior to 1934. It had a 30ft wide proscenium and was equipped with an AWH sound system. By 1944 it was operated by Mrs. Francis Rose Hunt of Anstey, who owned and operated several cinemas in Leicestershire & Warwickshire. She was known to arrive at the cinema in her Jaguar car wearing a fur coat. Almost all the cinemas she operated were known as ‘flea-pits’ and the Empire Cinema, Melbourne was also well known to be over-run with rats!

The Empire Cinema was still open in 1958, but had closed by 1963. The building is still there in 2024, but its use (if any) is unknown

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