Karen Johnstone and theatre chairman Derek Miles with the bill (30620)RESTORATION work at a village theatre has unearthed a cinema bill almost 80 years old.

The bill was discovered in the eaves of the Woolstore Theatre in Codford earlier this year, wrapped in a copy of a local newspaper from February 25, 1916.

At that time the Woolstore was called the Codford Empire Cinema.

The Woolstore was originally turned into a cinema around 1906 and was used to keep Australian soldiers entertained during the First World War. Although the Woolstore Theatre committee already knows a lot about the history of the building, the cinema bill is a significant find.

Karen Johnstone, spokesman for the committee, said: "We've got photographs from when it was the Empire Cinema and we have photographs of when it was a woolstore, but this is very specific.

"It is definitely the Empire Cinema and it is definitely 1916."

The bill gives a fascinating insight into the type of entertainment local people enjoyed during the first six months of the war. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the Empire was showing The Mystery Of The Seven Chests and on Thursday, Friday and Saturday it showed When The Lightning Struck, both short black and white films from America. Charlie Chaplin comedies were also shown at the cinema every week.

Woolstore owner, Paul Hember, has had the cinema bill framed and has donated it to the Woolstore Theatre Archives.