[3][4] Constructed as a cinema in the early 1920s during a boom in the building of picture palaces, it was closed in 1969, after which the Majestic was used as a bingo hall and later as a nightclub.

The building was listed at Grade II in 1993 as the Top Rank Bingo Hall and, in 2014, was badly damaged in a fire, resulting in the loss of all original interior and roof.

[3] The Majestic is a two-storey building in the Beaux-Arts style clad in Marmo artificial marble, a glazed terracotta which was made by the Leeds Fireclay Co at Burmantofts.

These principally include the Greek key patterned panels on both side elevations, the cornice with modillions, vase balustrade and two sets of triple bull's-eye windows at the attic storey.

The generously-sized, fan-shaped auditorium could seat 2,800 (1,600 in the stalls and 1,200 in the balcony),[3] was covered by a coffered dome with a diameter of nearly 26 m (85 ft)[6] and had many decorative features, such as a circular Classical frieze of repeated groups of horses and chariots, moulded cornices and wall motifs, and fluted Ionic columns surrounding the walls.

Additionally, there was a grand organ of three manuals and 33 stops built by HS Vincent of Sunderland, and space for a small orchestra[7] to perform live alongside the silent films which were shown during the 1920s when the Majestic opened.

[3] The chosen Beaux-Arts style was characteristic of many of the large and grand "supercinemas" or picture palaces of the time, which is considered a golden age of cinema building.

[5] The Majestic Cinema was opened on 5 June 1922 by the Lord Mayor William Hodgson, the first film being Way Down East which was attended by 50,000 people in its first week.

It was at this point, after a lengthy and ultimately fruitless legal process, that Luminar Leisure decided to sell the now empty building.

[14] Work began in 2018 to convert it into office space and extend upwards,[15] followed by the announcement in April 2019 that Channel 4 was in advanced talks to site its new national headquarters – containing creative and digital departments, alongside new creative hubs in Glasgow and Bristol[16] – in the Majestic;[17] it was confirmed in December 2019 that Channel 4 would occupy the third, fourth and fifth floors,[1] followed in July 2020 by confirmation of the law firm Knights plc taking the first and second floors.