Tue 12th Mar 2024 |
Chorley, like many towns in the north of England, had
entertainment provided for the people in the wake of the
Industrial Revolution. Early theatres were built before the
cinema was widespread. Chorley Theatre first opened on 3rd
September 1910 as the Empire Electric Picture Palace, making it
one of the oldest still-operating purpose-built cinemas. Other
theatres in the town also began to show films and even the Town
Hall was used. Until the 1930s Chorley had 2 Town Halls. The
first was built in 1802 but the new Town Hall opened in Aug 1879
and was used for many events such as travelling theatre groups,
political meetings, musical concerts, First World War recruiting
drives, women’s suffrage and even a rally by Sir Oswald
Moseley’s Fascist Blackshirts in 1935. |
Estelle Bryers. |
Sante's Theatre before the 1914 fire. |
Chorley's old Town Hall built 1802. |
Sante's Theatre burnt down in 1914. |
Where the Royal Theatre stood on Market St. |
Chorley Empire. |
Sante programme June 1903. |
Entertainment in Chorley. |
It is hard to imagine that just
outside the current Booths shop on the Flat-iron stood Sante's
Grand Theatre. George Testo Sante was a US-born circus strongman
who toured the UK with his variety play “The Showman.” In 1894
he bought a wooden theatre and invested in creating “a people's
palace of dreams” and claims to have entertained 150,000 people
in 1899. Sadly it was destroyed by fire in 1914 after a
performance of the pantomime “Jack Horner ''. Sante sold his
stakes in other venues before dying penniless in 1916.
Chorley Little Theatre is also the
home of CADOS and Chorley Amateur Dramatic & Operatic Society
(CADOS) was founded at a meeting in Shepherd's Hall on 2nd March
1933. |
|
A huge thanks to Estelle for a fascinating tour of entertainment
in Chorley. |
B.H. |