Penistone Paramount Cinema

The Penistone Paramount Cinema is a community cinema and theatre on Shrewsbury Road in Penistone, a town near Barnsley in the South Yorkshire Pennines. The building was originally designed by Henry R. Collins in the Art Deco style and opened in 1914 as an assembly hall. It later became the Town Hall Picture House, showing silent films from 1915. A balcony was added in the 1920s to increase seating to 900, and a stage and bar were introduced in the 1960s. The cinema’s name honours its Compton Organ, which has a long history. Built in 1937 for a Birmingham theatre, it was moved to Oswestry in 1988 and then stored until 2000. The Penistone Cinema Organ Trust restored the organ, which has 1,000 pipes, and the cinema was renamed the Paramount in its honour. The building remains owned by Barnsley Council but is leased to Penistone Town Council to keep it running. Inside, visitors find a restored Art Deco interior with a stage, bar, and the Compton Organ. Monthly organ concerts are held, and the cinema still shows films alongside live performances. The building has featured in television, including the BBC Politics Show and the series *Brief Encounters*. Its survival shows how a small community can keep a cultural venue alive.