Project of the week

First opened in 1911, just two years after the introduction of the Cinematograph Act (1909), the Grade II*-listed Electric Palace is one of the oldest surviving purpose-built cinemas, complete with its original silent screen, projection room and ornamental frontage. It survived the 1953 East Coast floods only to close suddenly in 1956 for economic reasons, then lay abandoned and largely forgotten for the next 16 years.

In 1972, the cinema was threatened with demolition, but was later saved when it was discovered by Gordon Miller, who, with help from the Harwich Society, managed to obtain a listing for the cinema as being ‘a building of sociological interest’. A group of enthusiasts later banded together to establish the Harwich Electric Palace Trust, acquiring the building from Tendring District Council before embarking on a major restoration project to bring the cinema back into operational use. It reopened in 1981.  

Today, the Electric Palace is a vibrant community cinema and cultural asset, offering a varied programme of film screenings, theatre, and live music, as well as community events and workshops. A recent two-year restoration project, completed in 2022, has seen further repairs and refurbishment that have ensured the building can stay open for future generations to enjoy.