The Royal Electric Theatre, Hebden Bridge

The theatre on New Road opened in 1912 on what is now the Memorial Gardens. It ceased as a cinema June 24th 1921 when the present day Picture House opened. The following text is taken from Looking Back at Hebden Bridge by Frank Horsfall & Terry Wyke. A travelling theatre, Blake’s Alhambra, provided the people of Hebden Bridge with one of their first opportunities to experience the magic of moving pictures. In 1912, Jack Shaw, a Manchester man, opened the town’s first cinema on Thistle Holme, on a site now occupied by the Memorial Gardens. Officially called The Royal Electric Theatre and hippodrome, it was, understandably, more commonly referred to as the ˜Wood Hut’. Once inside, the patrons of the ˜Wood Hut’ could relax in relative comfort, safe in the knowledge that œin the interests of public health, the hall is regularly disinfected with Jeyes’Fluid and enjoy films such as ˜Father’ which was advertised as œtruly the limit in fine pictures. Over 3,000 feet long.