In part four of his look at the development of entertainment in Durham, David Simpson remembers the transition from theatre to cinema in the early part of the 20th Century.

MOVING pictures made their first appearance in Durham City in the 1890s, when theatres such as the Peoples' Palace of Varieties, in Court Lane, and the Assembly Rooms, in North Bailey, were important venues for cinematic shows.

Films were also demonstrated at non-theatre venues, such as the Gilesgate Drill Hall, Durham Town Hall and the Shakespeare Hall, in North Road.

In the theatres, the short films were of secondary importance to dramatic performances or music hall acts, or at least they were in the early days.

The early film shows were still a novelty for audiences, and they had yet to reach their full dramatic potential, being just one of a number of peculiar types of entertainment that included comedians, ventriloquists and dancers.

Even when the Palace Theatre opened in an old dye house in Walkergate in 1909, it operated primarily as a venue for live performances rather than as a cinema.

Variety and music hall was still quite popular at the turn of the century, and it is said that Charlie Chaplin once performed at the Palace in his pre-cinema days.

Records show differently, however, and Chaplin denied he had performed in Durham.

Despite its early days as a music hall, the Palace is most fondly remembered by Durham people as a cinema and was known to many residents as the Flea Pit. However, films did not permanently replace live performances at the Palace until much later.

Of course, the transitional period from live performances to cinema was not always clear-cut. Even as cinema became firmly established in Durham as an entertainment in its own right, live turns were still a common supplementary feature of early movie shows.

At the very least, a live pianist was considered an essential aspect of film in the silent movie era.

The Assembly Rooms, in North Bailey, was one of the most important early venues for moving pictures in Durham.v In 1903, it hosted a showing of a dramatic film called the Great Train Robbery. This was probably the first movie drama of its kind to be shown in Durham, since the earlier films in the city, as elsewhere, showed factual subjects such as Edward VIII's coronation and Queen Victoria's funeral procession.

It was in 1912 that film shows virtually replaced live drama at the Durham Assembly Rooms.

Film had become increasingly popular at this theatre in the early 1900s, and it was recognised that films had become the most important source of revenue.

The Assembly Rooms, with a history stretching from the 18th Century, thus effectively came to be the city's first permanent cinema.

Unfortunately, the Assembly Rooms had been the main centre for performing plays, rather than music hall, in Durham. This meant that there was now a gap in Durham's entertainment market that was waiting to be filled.

The Palace Theatre, in Walkergate, was quick to recognise the opportunity.

In 1913, it successfully applied for a licence for the performance of dramatic plays.

Over time, the plays gradually replaced the variety acts and the Palace filled the void left by the Assembly Rooms' change of emphasis.

Comic plays, melodramas, revues and pantomimes were now shown at the Palace, with productions from both professional and amateur dramatic performers.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before the Palace also recognised the ever-increasing potential of cinema and, in 1921, films completely replaced live performances at the Palace.

In fact, this was the general trend at many theatres the length of Britain.

Over time, the Assembly Rooms may have become increasingly unsuited to cinematic needs.

In 1930, after the death of its owner, Thomas Rushworth, the building was bought by the University of Durham and used for a time as a drill hall.

It would not be restored for dramatic purposes until the early 1950s and has often been used by students and amateur performers since that time.v Durham people nearly always remember the Palace as a cinema, while the Assembly Rooms is usually considered to be a theatrical venue.

It is interesting that this was not always the case.

However, both were theatres adapted as picture houses, and the first purpose-built cinema to open in Durham would not come until May 1913.

This was the Globe Cinema and stood at the north end of North Road, where a Chinese restaurant now stands alongside a roundabout.

Converted from a former timber house, the cinema ran parallel to the street. It was noted for twice-nightly performances, at 7pm and 9pm.

At about the time of the First World War, a glass canopy was added to its facade announcing the show times. The Globe would continue operating until the 1950s, by which time several other cinemas had opened in the city, of which we will read more in next week's Durham Memories.

I am greatly indebted to Jo Jones for her information on Durham's theatres, and to David Williams for his expertise on Durham's cinemas. David's new book, titled Cinema in a Cathedral City 1896-2003, will be published in the autumn.

If you have memories or old photographs of Durham, including old pubs, shops, cinemas or well-known personalities, write to David Simpson, Durham Memories, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF. E-mail david.simpson@nne.co.uk, or telephone (01325) 505098

Published: 04/07/2003