The Palace Cinema in Station Road was one of Aldershot’s finest venues, which opened on Boxing Day 1912. The cinema was owned by Mr Isidor Phillips, one of Aldershot’s prominent businessmen, although he always employed a manager to run the cinema. Seating just under 1,000 patrons, the auditorium was lavishly decorated in red and gold with elaborate plasterwork. A report in the local newspaper on the opening night related: “It was packed with audiences who were loud in their appreciation of the beauty of its interior decorations and the excellence of its pictures. The colour scheme is delightful, the combination of cream and rose-du-barry giving a most charming effect, while everything has apparently been done for the convenience and comfort of the patrons … A very pleasant feature is the great steadiness and clearness which characterises the pictures.”
In the early days a resident orchestra would accompany the silent films. Sound pictures were introduced in the early 1930s, when a Western Electric sound system was installed. In 1938 this was replaced by a new, state-of-the-art Mirrophonic Sound System. Continuing its reputation for high quality sound, in the 1960s it was the first cinema in Aldershot to have stereo sound installed.
The Palace closed as a cinema in 1985, later becoming a night club and then a live music venue, and today it is used for conferences, banquets and events. It is listed as Grade II on the National Heritage List for England, notable in particular for the surviving original interior.
