Palace Theatre

I was undertaking relief work at the Forum Cinema in the 1960s and attended the wedding of a fellow Forum projectionist. The reception was held at the Regency Ballroom. The building gave the impression of being an awful example of a 1930’s purpose built ballroom with diabolical acoustics, an inadequate stage for the DJ and an overall air of being poorly maintained and past its sell by date. It did not give an indication of being a former cinema in any way whatsoever.Therefore I was most surprised to learn this evening that it was once a cinema. The Regency was notorious for its Saturday night alcohol free ‘Hops'where the local teenagers met and fought after pre fuelling sessions at the local pubs.