Report - Empire Theatre/Gala Bingo - Burnley - April 2015

Bigian88 · Apr 23, 2015

History:

The Empire Theatre in Burnley was built for W. C. Horner of the Victoria Opera House in Burnley and designed by the architect G. B. Rawcliffe, who had previously designed the Victoria Opera House. The Theatre opened on Monday the 29th of October 1894 with a variety show and could originally seat 1,935 people. In 1911 the respected Theatre Architect, Bertie Crewe reconstructed the auditorium with a new seating capacity of 2,100, and it is Crewe's auditorium that remains to this day despite several changes of use and recent serious neglect.
In 1938 The Theatre was converted for cinema use by the Architects Lewis and Company of Liverpool, and the seating capacity was reduced to 1,808 in the process. Like so many other Theatres around the Country the Empire was eventually converted for Bingo use but even this ceased in 1995 and the Theatre, despite being a Grade II Listed building, has been empty ever since, and is in serious decline, and listed as one of the Theatres Trust's buildings at risk.

Sadly there isn't much to see in this place anymore, the stage is almost inaccessible due to the unsafe flooring and sheer amount of bird much (a few inches thick). The theatre hall makes for some nice shots but again suffers with a few areas that are a little unsafe.

The stage: