Albert Wilcock, Cinema Pioneer in Pontefract

Researched and written by Richard Senior for Issue 9 of The Bridge, November 1999
This article is also available on Richard's website http://www.r-senior.demon.co.uk/ftree/
Albert Wilcock was born in 1870 at Mill Dam, Pontefract, the sixth child of twelve children. His father was John Wilcock (1834-1886), who founded the sawmill at Mill Dam in 1866 and his mother was Eliza Hannah Wright of Bolton Percy near Tadcaster. He was brought up in the family house at Mill Dam in a tightly knit community of Wilcocks who had been in the Old Church area of Pontefract since the 1790s.

Albert served an apprenticeship as a joiner under his father and worked in the family joinery business. The family was rocked in successive years by the death of his grandfather John in 1885 and his father John in 1886. His mother Eliza Hannah took over t he business in trust after her husband's death but with eldest sons Oliver, William Pease and John all moving away from Mill Dam, it was left to Albert and elder brother Richard to keep the business running. They were later joined in the management of the business by younger brothers George and Frederick.

In 1911 the four youngest Wilcock brothers planned to go into a new venture, agreeing to purchase land on Front Street, Tanshelf for the purpose of constructing a picture house. It appears that Albert renaged on this agreement early in 1912 and raised the money himself by mortgage from the Eagle Brewery in Wakefield. After gaining planning permission from the Borough Council in January 1912, he proceeded to build a new cinema on the site on Front Street. Brothers Richard, George and Frederick were clearly unimpressed by this and took the rather unbrotherly step of serving a writ against Albert in the High Court, claiming dissolution of the partnership and compensation. Undeterred, Albert opened the Premier Picture House in March 1912 and settled with his brothers out of court.

The first programme of the Premier may have given an indication of future direction. `Child of the West' was the first of many westerns that gave the Premier the nickname of the `ranch-house'. Albert managed to get a regular piece in the Pontefract & Castleford Express previewing the next week's releases which, in the early days, were projected directly onto the wall rather than onto a screen.

Progressively during his time at the cinema, Albert became increasingly involved in property speculation and investment in Pontefract, buying up large areas of properties and land around the town. He finally retired as manager of the Premier in 1932 and continued to buy and sell property. 

Part of the Friarwood Valley Gardens was donated to Pontefract a couple of years before his death and he is commemorated on a stone tablet at the bottom of the steps at the Town End entrance to the gardens.

Albert died on 13th June 1948 after a brief illness.