The Royal Court Theatre was originally built in 1850 as the Henrietta Street Iron Works. In 1886 the building was gutted by fire and subsequently bought and turned into a Theatre. The Theatre opened in 1893 and incorporated some of the external walls of the original Iron Works. Although the Theatre originally had two balconies the upper circle was removed in 1948. The Theatre was known as the Empire in the 1900s, and has been a Bingo Hall and a church. Happily the Theatre, called the Royal Court once more, is now owned by the Bacup Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society whose Website you will find here...

Arthur Lloyd is known to have performed in Bacup in 1871.