Electric Palace Cinema

The Electric Palace Cinema was constructed in 1911 for Charles Thurston, an East Anglian travelling showman. It was designed by Harold Ridley Hooper of Ipswich. The building is constructed of brick with a Welsh slate gabled roof, featuring three metal ridge-line ventilators. The front façade is faced with Roman cement. The auditorium, which lacks a balcony, is accessed via a small foyer.

The exterior displays a raised central section with lower flanking wings. A semi-circular, winged dentil pediment sits centrally, featuring a convex circular panel displaying the date within a cartouche of strapwork and drapery. Solid balustrades flank the pediment, and a long horizontal panel displays the name “ELECTRIC PALACE” in serif lettering. Below this is a cornice with paired dentils. A wide recessed opening is framed by pilasters and a frieze featuring a moulded motif of fruiting swags, drops, ribbons, and a central laurel wreath. The lower wings are rusticated and incorporate small-pane double-hung sash windows above plaster panels. Painted timber balustrades with circular, Mackmurdo-like motifs extend above the windows.

Inside, a centrally positioned five-sided kiosk and elaborate twin entrance doors with eared architraves, pulvinated friezes, and winged segmental pediments featuring a shell motif are notable. The auditorium features a plaster barrel fielded ceiling with ventilation roundels. An elaborate proscenium and side walls are adorned with plaster-framed panels over a dado. Twin exit doors flank the proscenium, and a shallow stage is present. A projection room is located above the entrance.

The Electric Palace is a rare surviving example of an early purpose-built cinema following the passage of the Cinematograph Act in 1910. The cinema closed in 1956 and was "rediscovered" and reopened by a charitable trust in 1972. Its survival is remarkable, escaping demolition and resisting significant alteration due to its sixteen-year period of closure.