Back to the Futurist cinema launches in Elsecar
12 November 2018
A pop-up community cinema is being launched in Elsecar this month, 33 years after the Futurist cinema closed its doors in the village.
A special screening of the cult classic film Back to the Future will launch the community cinema at The Ironworks at Elsecar Heritage Centre on Thursday 15 November from 7pm – 10.30pm. The launch event is free and open to everyone.
Films will then be shown every month until next November at Milton Hall in Elsecar. A Christmas cinema screening will take place on Friday 14 December at 7pm. Further dates will be released in the new year.
The community cinema is being funded by WE Great Place in partnership with Cinema for All and the Forge Community Partnership.
The Futurist cinema closed in Elsecar in 1985 when no one turned up to see the final showing. It was converted into a club, and shortly after became an auction room. After 1995 it became unused. In 2002 it was purchased by retired TV engineer Trevor Miller who converted the building into his home. Today, the building retains many of its old features such as the screen, ticket office and turnstiles.
WE Great Place are encouraging cinema-goers to share their memories or memorabilia from the original Futurist at the launch event. They are also keen to hear about people’s memories of cinema from across the region.
A replica DeLorean car will be on show to celebrate the cinema’s revival and people are encouraged to attend in their best 1980s outfits to receive a free drink on the night.
WE Great Place is recruiting volunteers aged 16-30 who will receive training from the project partners to help manage the future direction of the cinema.
Dominic Somers from WE Great Place, said: “Back to the Futurist will be a cinema for all and we can’t wait to give it back to the people of Elsecar. We’re keen to hear from young people in the local area who would be interested in volunteering. They could already be studying media or just have an interest in film.
“Back to the Future came out in the same year the Futurist closed its doors to the public in 1985 so it was fitting to choose it as our first film. It’s an opportunity for people to celebrate cinema while reminiscing about their best cinema memories and we can’t wait to welcome people to the fantastic Ironworks.”
Neil Spencer, from the Forge community partnership, said: “Forge Community Partnership and the Milton Hall Group are very excited at the opportunity to be a part of the rebirth of the Community Cinema in Elsecar, working with the Great Place team and other partners.
“The project will bring people of all ages together through the medium of film, helping to establish new friendships and build on individuals’ social networks to reduce the growing issue of isolation.”
WE Great Place is a three-year partnership between Barnsley Council, Rotherham Council and the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust. The partnership is delivering a range of cultural activities inspired by the rich history linked to Wentworth Woodhouse and Earl Fitzwilliam’s industrial empire at Elsecar. It is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Arts Council England (ACE).
To book free tickets for the Back to the Futurist launch event at The Ironworks at Elsecar Heritage Centre at 7pm on 15 November visit Eventbrite. The film is rated PG.
To find out about volunteering opportunities linked to the Back to the Futurist cinema please email greatplace@barnsley.gov.uk
Notes to editors
Media contact: Charlotte Goldthorpe at Capital B Media on 01226 766900 or at charlotte@capitalbmedia.co.uk
Photocall: Members of the press are invited to the launch of Back to the Futurist – a new pop-up community cinema at The Ironworks, Elsecar Heritage Centre from 5.45pm-6.15pm on Thursday 15 November. Dominic Somers from WE Great Place will be available for interviews.
The Electra Palace Theatre (Futurist) opened in Elsecar on 27 August 1912 and seated 600 on the single sloping floor. It was designed by T. Menson Robinson and Percy Roberts and built by Messrs. Longden & Son of Sheffield. It was very well appointed with oak panelling in the foyer and tip-up seats throughout the auditorium, the more expensive one being better upholstered and the cheapest probably wooden seats. The proscenium was 24ft wide. There were two electric fans to extract hot air and the building was centrally heated in winter. By 1930 a Western Electric (WE) sound system had been installed and the seating reduced to 450. By 1934 it was equipped with a British Thomson-Houston (BTH) sound system. It was renamed the Palace Cinema in May 1938 and the Futurist Cinema from August of the same year. The Futurist Cinema closed relatively late in 1985 (when no one turned up to see the final programme). It was converted into a club, which itself closed soon after and the cinema became an auction room. After 1995 it became unused. In 2002 it was purchased by retired TV engineer Trevor Miller who converted the building into his home.
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox as teenager Marty McFly, who accidentally travels back in time to 1955, where he meets his future parents and becomes his mother's romantic interest. Christopher Lloyd portrays the eccentric scientist Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown, inventor of the time-traveling DeLorean, who helps Marty repair history and return to 1985.
Great Place Wentworth and Elsecar is a three-year partnership between Barnsley Council, Rotherham Council and the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust, that will deliver a range of exciting activities inspired by the awe-inspiring Wentworth Woodhouse and the Earl Fitzwilliam’s incredible model industrial village at Elsecar. It is funded by Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Arts Council England (ACE).
The Great Place project is run from Elsecar Heritage Centre – part of the Barnsley Museums service. http://wegreatplace.com/ Twitter @GreatPlace_WE
About Elsecar
A bustling industrial village from the 1700s, Elsecar boomed thanks to its ironworks and thriving collieries, which were often visited by aristocrats and royalty. For 150 years it was the industrial estate village of Wentworth Woodhouse just a mile away and was developed by the Marquis of Rockingham and Earls Fitzwilliam into a model village.
The Elsecar Heritage Action Zone project is working closely alongside the Great Place project at Elsecar to research and promote the heritage of the village and surrounding area. Elsecar was named a Heritage Action Zone by Historic England in March 2017 - one of only ten places in the country to gain the special new status.
About Wentworth Woodhouse
Wentworth Woodhouse is a Grade I listed country house, based in the village of Wentworth, Rotherham. One of the largest houses in Europe, it was once the home of the Fitzwilliam family. In 2017, it was bought by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust, who are working to renovate the building and restore it to its former glory.
This press release was prepared by Capital B Media, a public relations and media training agency based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. For more information, please visit www.capitalbmedia.co.uk.
