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Cinema Gazetteer
Palace Theatre
valleys, but as an Albany Ward property, has been included here for
completeness.
Mr Harris had in the 1870s created the village of Treharris to serve his
Deep Navigation Mine, said to be the deepest in Wales. One building
he erected for his workforce was Treharris Public Hall and Institute
situated on The Square.
By 1910 this building had become the Palace of Varieties, probably
under Albany Ward control. It was noted as having a 20' deep stage,
a proscenium 28' wide and 3 dressing rooms. Film shows were also on
the programme. There was seating for 720, 220 in the dress circle.
Being so remote from Albany Wards other operations, by 1930 the property now known as the Palace
Theatre was sold to South Wales cinema operator Will Stone, of Cardiff, and sound was installed in
1932, the oddly named Klang-Tobis system.
In the mid-1950s there was another change in ownership this time Israel Price Cinemas Ltd of Merthyr
Tydfil. A new RCA sound system was soon installed and in time a wide 23' by 10' CinemaScope
screen was added.
After briefly being run by C I Prick, the building reverted to its original owners Treharris Public Hall &
Institute Ltd by the late 1960s. Unfortunately the cinema finally closed in 1971. From this point it
became a bingo hall and from 1986 an amusement arcade. By the 1990s the building was closed and
derelict. Plans were proposed for use as a church or indoor market, but due to the dangerous state
of the building, it was demolished in 2000.