Picture Palace

This building in Prescot has an interesting history.

It started as two houses at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century.
Then in 1911 they were acquired by the Prescot Picture Palace Company Ltd. The front was reconfigured and a barrel roofed auditorium (still there) was built to the rear, used by the “picture drome”, variety theatre and music hall. The first tickets were sold in 1912,.
In 1923 it was renamed the Palace Theatre - variety and music hall giving way to moving pictures.
In 1957 the cinema closed. The building became a furniture warehouse.
That was succeeded in the 1970’s - as in so many other places - by Bingo.
In 1995 the building was purchased by Prescot Community Church, who remained there until 2022.,
It now lies vacant and sad (the budlieia is doing well), although there seem to be ambitions to return it to its “former glory”. It is the largest project in Prescot’s “High Street Heritage Action Zone”.