The outbreak war in 1914 brought considerable changes to The Pavilion. The Town Council decided they should not be running it and leased it to Mr. Ernest Wheeler, a member of a prominent business family in the town.
His father had run the new theatre, The Theatre Royal, in St. Nicholas Street.
Ernest continued leasing the building for the next 25 years.
In the 1930’s, possibly due to competition from The Alexandra Gardens Theatre (now amusements)
which opened in 1925 the auditorium was adapted to show films.
The Pavilion then became a popular cinema in the town.
1939: The Second World War had an even greater effect than the first. The Pavilion was closed down as it was requisitioned by the military for war purposes. At one point the military authorities wanted to
demolish the building! It escaped this fate only to be damaged during an air raid in
April 1942 and was taken over by the Admiralty.
1947