Empire Music Hall (Rochdale)

Theatre ID
2254
Built / Converted
1904
Dates of use
- 1904 - 1910
Current state
Extant
Current use
converted to other use (Café-bar) <br> (possibly used until 1918 as ciné-variety)
Address
Town Hall Square and Packer Street, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England

Details

The date of opening would appear to be 1904. If this is correct, the façe of the building was designed to reflect the Gothic architectural style of the Town Hall (1864, by W H Crossland of Leeds). The Empire stands in Town Hall Square and a curiosity is a speakers’ balcony above the entrance, at balcony level, with access from an arched opening with French windows. Five bays, the outer ones with a pinnacle roof, the central bay, the highest, with a pediment carrying the legend EMPIRE HALL. The present auditorium dates from c.1904; it has a barrel-vault ceiling, banded with geometrical plaster ornamentation. The original horseshoe shaped balcony was removed in 1930, and a curved balcony, more suitable for cinema, installed. The proscenium was also taken back and enlarged. Some stained glass windows were inserted at this time. Stairs to balcony and foyer areas have a wooded dado, probably the original. After years as a cinema, the Empire was converted to bingo in the 1950s. The building is now a cafe-bar, utilising only the stalls and stage areas. The balcony is divided off, out of public use, by a drop wall from the ceiling to the balcony front edge. Boxes, two each side, may have been added recently to enhance the theatrical theme, and providing platforms for lighting etc.

Hide further details

Other names
Empire Hall, Pringles Picture Palace
Events
- 1904 - 1910 Use:
- 1904 Design/Construction:
  - Unknown - Architect
- 1930 Alteration: horseshoe balcony removed and replaced by a curved balcony; proscenium taken back and enlarged
  - Unknown - Architect
- 1950 - 1959 Alteration: converted to bingo
  - Unknown - Architect
- 1995 Alteration: converted to pub
  - Amicable Estates (Wigan) - Architect
- 1910 Owner/Management: Ralph Pringle
- 1952 Owner/Management: by Jackson’s Amusements
Capacities
- Later: 1955: 1143
Listings
- Grade Not listed