First Cinema in town?


Where was the first cinema in Oswaldtwistle and what was it called? It seems to be the Empire Picture House of 1915. I checked out a plan of the proposals from the Lancashire archive during our visit in March 2018. There were further proposals in 1920 and 1931 but I ran out of time and could not follow these up. The proposal was to take over and modify the former New Jerusalem Chapel. When new, it was situated off Warren Lane which later became Union Road. Across the road to the East is the 1930 Palladium cinema, long disused. The plan involved building side aisles to allow access and a ticket office. The entrance was the alley between the former pub and bank on the corner of Foxhill Bank Brow. I think I once saw a movie there. The building still stands but you will not be welcomed if you try to view it by going through the gate on Foxhill Bank Brow. I tried. I was confronted by an aggressive get-off-my-property type. I only just got out.  The funny thing is, I saw nothing of value. The place is a dump. What was there to hide? Check it out in Google Street View.

NJ was a sect or offshoot of the Swedenborgians, a heretical pseudo-Christian movement. (Here "New Jerusalem" refers to the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven in the Book of Revelation.) They claimed to have a mystical, exclusive relationship with the new Jerusalem. They are also known as "New Church". They regard all the older churches, reformed, Roman Catholic or Orthodox as false. The premises seemed to continue as a church or school until WW1. I am looking for more information. It is still active in Accrington.

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