[Morrisey]

Situated in the heart of Wigans Chav lands is this delightful nugget of late Victorian entertainment, thankfully screened off from the alcho pop swilling knuckle scrapers whom are blissfully unaware of the history that surrounds them.

Originally designed by R. T. Johnson in 1886, the Royal Court Theatre was redesigned by the better known John Priestly Briggs in 1899.

In 1930 the interior was modernised and the theatre became the Court Cinema, however both balconies were retained. The proscenium was re-built to a width of 38 feet. The cinema was equipped with a Compton 2Manual/7Rank organ, with the console on a lift.

The Court Cinema was last operated by Brennan's Cinemas and in 1962, the Compton organ was removed from the building. It was equipped to screen 70mm film and it closed on 15th August 1973 with Julie Andrews in "The Sound of Music".

It became a bingo hall, which in turn closed towards the end of the 1990's. The Court Cinema was designated a Grade II Listed on 10 March 1998.

The building is a live site and permission was needed to gain access.

copy n pasted from here