St. James' Theatre

Built as a Public Hall in 1885, it was destroyed by fire in 1904. It was rebuilt as the St. James' Theatre which opened by February 1909 and was screening films. By 1910 it was in use as a roller skating rink until 1911. It then became a live theatre until the end of 1921. It was opened as a cinema on 2nd January 1922 with Mary Pickford in “Pollyanna” and Charlie Chaplin in “A Days Pleasure”. There were two entrances, one on St. James' Place and the other on County Court Road. Seating was provided for 680 in the stalls and 280 in the circle with seating for 20 in boxes at the rear of the circle. The auditorium was decorated in a Jacobean style and the stage was 20ft deep. It also had a dance hall attached.

It was taken over in 1928 by the Union Cinema Co. Ltd. chain and on 30th September 1929 it was equipped with a Western Electric(WE) sound system and Al Jolson in “The Jazz Singer” was the first ‘talkie’ to be screened. By 1934 it was operated by Union Cinema Co. Ltd. chain. The St. James' Theatre was destroyed by a fire which had first broken out in the dance hall on 16th February 1937.

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