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A small cinema was built in Westerhope on Stamfordham Road which opened as the Picture Palace in 1912. It was financed by Samuel R. Piper,a miner who had originally come from Cornwall and who had worked at the nearby North Walbottle Colliery. The basic hall had a tiny balcony seating 16 with a total capacity of 450. It was designed by H.F. Burrows of Lemington. When it was taken over in 1932 by Percy Longhorn, sound was introduced for the first time. When snow storms were very bad in 1941 and the village was cut off, films were brought out from the city by sledge. It was in the 1940s that the present name, 'Orion' was chosen. It was very much a family business and even closed for two weeks every year when the Longhorns went on holiday. It closed as a cinema in 1970 but still remains as a bingo club.