Palace Cinema and No. 2 Hill Street

The Palace Cinema and No. 2 Hill Street began as a corn market, likely in the 18th century, and was later converted into a cinema. The building is constructed of rubble stone with slate hipped roofs that have overhanging eaves and flat detailing. It presents two similar facades, one to Hill Street and another to Upper Market Street, both featuring early 20th-century stucco detailing applied to central features and broad piers between bays.

The Hill Street facade has seven bays, while the Upper Market Street facade has five; the cinema entrance is recessed at the corner. Both facades feature pedimented centrepieces. The first-floor windows are original sash windows with marginal glazing bars, set within plain stucco surrounds that incorporate keystones. A raised band runs continuously around the building between the floors, stuccoed except on No. 2 and the plinth of squared grey limestone blocks. The ground floor has arched entries in each bay, the arches built with rough stone voussoirs where exposed.

The Upper Market Street facade has stuccoed bays interspersed with four rubble stone bays, separated by broad, stuccoed piers with dentil cornices. These piers have raised panels at first-floor level and pedimented panels at ground-floor level, the pediments triangular on intermediate piers and curved on the outer ones. The band and stone plinth project over the piers. The stuccoed centrepiece features similar piers with arch-headed lower panels, flanking a slightly projected centre with a ground-floor arch displaying radiating rustication framed by pilasters with fluting and roundels beneath caps. This leads to a minimal open pediment. The first floor has a sash window and rusticated quoins. The cornice steps forward over the centre, but the pediment, featuring mutules, covers the entire centrepiece.

The narrow corner between the outermost stucco piers of each facade is rounded, with exposed stone and a stucco band. The Hill Street facade is similar, but the final two bays (No. 2) are not stuccoed. The piers in these bays are wider, and stucco covers the three central bays instead of just one. The two bays of No 2 have their windows in rough red brick surrounds, and the band between floors is poorly profiled, appearing as though intended for stucco. The centre of the Hill Street facade features fully stuccoed flanking bays with an arch and first-floor sash, the sash with a hoodmould and keystone. The central element is similar to that on Upper Market Street, with set-back piers framing a pedimented centrepiece; however, the set-back piers here are plain, lacking panels, have no cornice, and feature a plainer pediment. The rustication on the arch is similar but topped with a curved pediment, and the window above is flanked by blind keyed roundels. A few of the doorways retain the radiating open timber fanlights that were original to the market entrances. The doors are mostly altered, but those on No. 2 may be original.

The interior of the building has not been inspected.