As an early Edwardian Picture Palace, the Duke of York's was advertised as having the clearest pictures ever seen, which were 'extremely steady', as the cinematograph was operated by electricity.

The programmes were to 'suit all tastes': dramas, comedy and the educational PATHE GAZETTE 'setting vividly before your eyes all the principle events of the globe during the previous week'. Indeed, Pathe newsreels continued to be part of cinema programmes right until the 1960s when production finally ceased.

It was not just film which was shown during this era. The opening programme featured a 'picture-play', THE BYWAYS OF BYRON arranged by A.W Gilbert-Smith, which included a recited libretto. In October 1910, J.W Gilbert-Smith's WAKE UP ENGLAND! was a rousing patriotic poem, recited and illustrated by a 'unique collection of lantern slides'. (Read More...)

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