THE community was out in force today to mark the completion of a book published to celebrate 105 years of an iconic building in Risca.

The grade II-listed building, now Risca Palace Library, or The Palace as it’s known locally, has been a feature of town life for more than 100 years and today locals gathered to mark another chapter.

Stories, reminiscences and music were all on offer at the Palace’s 105th birthday party. Having begun life in 1913 as the Palace cinema and theatre space, the building has also played host to a bingo hall as well as the new library.

Members of the public packed the library for the event, which featured a number of people who had contributed stories and memories to the book.

Edited by Sarah Merton, 105 Stories: The Risca Palace Memory Book has been published for reference only. It will not go on generale. Instead Copies will be distributed to libraries and community spaces throughout the area so that people are able to access the history.

Having been part of the town for more than a century, the Palace has become part of the lives of many generations.

Doug Leaman, 89 and Risca born-and-bred, has contributed stories to the book.

He recalled how the Palace, “a cinema way back in those days”, had formed a central part of his childhood.

Mr Leaman, a former engineering lecturer, said: “We used to go to the cinema on a Saturday morning. My mother used to give me three pence, two to get in and one to spend on myself. We called it the ‘tuppenny rush’.”

He also recalled the role the cinema played in his courtship of his future wife.

He said: “I used to bring my girlfriend to the Palace, she’s my wife now.

“It was lovely because you could have a little cwtch in the cinema.

“Unfortunately for me, my girlfriend’s older cousins worked there. I swear I was the only one they shone their torches on.” In its new guise as a community library, the Palace offers a space where people can do work, access the internet, read or just come together like they have done since 1913.

Cllr Philippa Marsden said: “This former cinema has seen thousand of visitors over the years. I’m delighted it’s still so popular.”