Special Cinema Performances

 

In the early days of the Garden City no cinema had been built. One of the earliest cinema screenings was on Saturday 14th October 1922 at the Lawrence Hall.  The programme included PickwickPapers, The Peasant Prince  a nature study of the Chaffinch, Beauty Spots in France and a comedy called Training a Grandfather.  These silent films were accompanied by Mr J Herbert Williams, the newly appointed church organist for Essendon. Admission was 1/3 (6.5p) for adults and 9d (4p) for children. There was a matinee and an evening performace.

Unfortunatley film screenings were not continued due to the ”difficulty of keeping out the light”.

In 1924 cinema performances began in an annex to Welwyn Stores and The Welwyn Theatre opened it’s doors in 1928.