People were saying ”shush” in Droitwich Library long before it had shelves filled with books. For the Victoria Square building was originally a cinema.

Constructed in 1934, New Salters Hall, as it was called, had 438 seats in the stalls and 212 in the circle. You can still see the proscenium arch inside.

The cinema closed in 1963 and lay empty for many years until it was transformed into a library in 1983. Its design was praised by Earl Spencer, Princess Diana’s father, during his visit to Droitwich in 1985.

New Salters Hall replaced the original Salters Hall, which ‘Salt King’ John Corbett built as a place of recreation for his workers and the townspeople.

The town’s previous library, a hundred yards away in Ombersley Street, was the first purpose-built library in the county.