In March 1909, local ironmonger James Clark, originally from Fraserburgh, converted the Lower Music Hall in Marischal Street into a roller-skating rink. James sold skates in his ironmongers so opening somewhere where he could profit by hiring them out seemed a logical extension to his business interests. By the start of 1911, his skating operation seems to have moved to a building in Hanover Street known as the Palace Skating Rink. The venue proved popular and James was adept at tailoring the entertainments to local tastes, including variety acts alongside the skating. It was said that "he made a point, during some part of each evening, of studying his audiences carefully and gauging the turns which appeared to give them most pleasure. Such turns were welcomed back, but an artiste who was unlucky enough to get a chilly reception - or worse still "the bird" - got no second invitation".
In November 1911, a kinematograph licence was granted to allow James to show pictures at his venue, after various alterations to house an engine room in order to power the new equipment. Skating was to feature three nights a week, with pictures on the other three (Sundays excluded).
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The…
In March 1909, local ironmonger James Clark, originally from Fraserburgh, converted the Lower Music Hall in Marischal Street into a roller-skating rink. James sold skates in his ironmongers so opening somewhere where he could profit by hiring them out seemed a logical extension to his business interests. By the start of 1911, his skating operation seems to have moved to a building in Hanover Street known as the Palace Skating Rink. The venue proved popular and James was adept at tailoring the entertainments to local tastes, including variety acts alongside the skating. It was said that "he made a point, during some part of each evening, of studying his audiences carefully and gauging the turns which appeared to give them most pleasure. Such turns were welcomed back, but an artiste who was unlucky enough to get a chilly reception - or worse still "the bird" - got no second invitation".
In November 1911, a kinematograph licence was granted to allow James to show pictures at his venue, after various alterations to house an engine room in order to power the new equipment. Skating was to feature three nights a week, with pictures on the other three (Sundays excluded).
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The Peterhead Sentinel and Buchan Journal reported the following on the 11th November 1911:
Electric Picture Palace for Peterhead
Successful Opening
By the provision of an up-to-date electric theatre Peterhead has been brought into line with the majority of big towns.
The theatre owes its inception to the enterprise of Mr James Clark. A very successful opening night took place on Tuesday and since then the splendid programme has been delighting large gatherings.
The building will be known as the Electric Picture Palace. It was previously a skating rink, and can be converted into the same again with little trouble. It has been beautifully fitted up by Mr W. B. Taylor, cabinetmaker. There is an artistic entrance, and the hall is hemmed in in a cosy, dark-red tapestry. The floor slopes gradually, and at the rear, where the best view is obtained, there has been installed about 200 upholstered and plush-covered tip-up chairs. The painting and artistic work was executed by Mr J. Cran, painter.
The electricity is supplied by a powerful dynamo driven by a 7-h.p. Tangye gas engine, and the plant was fitted by Messrs Simpson and Stephen, Peterhead.
The lantern is of the silent Empire variety of the latest pattern, and one of the finest in the north of Scotland. It gives a strong carbon light of about 17,000 candle power through its condenser and lenses, and shows the pictures without the slightest flicker. The lantern was supplied and fitted by Messrs Butcher and Sons, Ltd., Farringdon Avenue, London.
During the opening week a splendid programme of subjects, including educative travel pictures, dramatic and amusing sketches, etc., is being thrown on the screen, measuring 18 feet by 12 feet, under the manipulation of Mr Teddie Milton. About 6000 feet of film are shown at each performance, and the programme is changed entirely every Monday and Thursday.
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An obituary of James Clark, on his death in 1940, reported that the Palace had been nicknamed "Clarkie's" by locals when at the height of its popularity, in a nod to its esteemed proprietor.
Ever the shrewd arbiter of public fashions, James sold the venue in late 1926, sensing that the popularity of its offering would soon wane. It was taken over at the start of 1927 by Wilfred Donald Sterndale, a native of Huddersfield who had latterly been running the King's Cinema in Edinburgh (which would later change its name to become the Cameo Picturehouse).
Wilfred ran the venue much as before with a mix of variety, revues and pictures but with the advent of talkies, it seems the venue was never converted and business started to tail off. The Palace's opening hours become increasingly sporadic and sadly, in April 1932, Wilfred become increasingly despondent and was found dead in a gas-filled kitchen.
His passing left a gap in the local entertainment scene and groups such as the Choral Society no longer had anywhere to stage their Gilbert & Sullivan operettas. In 1934, it is reported that the Palace was taken over by an Edinburgh-based interest who planned to renovate the venue and install electric light but it is unclear if it ever happened. In 1936, the town's former Music Hall, where James Clark's skating rink interests had started, was destroyed by fire. Before the fire, the Music Hall's two main halls housed a cinema and the Empress Ballroom. Some discussion was seemingly had about where the town's ballroom dancers could relocate to, and mention was made of the old Palace in Hanover Street, providing arrangements could be made with a badminton club who had just signed a three-year lease there. It is, however, unclear what uses the Palace had after that time as it seems to drop off the entertainment and leisure radar.
The building still exists today and is used as a car parts warehouse.