Date of closure: July 2020
Address (for reference only):
Buzz Bingo (Lost Halls)
High Street
Chatham
ME4 4NR
It was announced that this club would close on the 15th of July 2020, one of 26 Buzz Bingo clubs which were victims of the prolonged lock-down of 2020 to combat the spread of Covid 19. Buzz Bingo CEO Chris Matthews took the decision to close the clubs to protect the other 91 clubs in the chain, as part of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), with the aim to shore-up the business going forward. You can read more on the closures here.
The Club was the second in this location, a modern purpose built one. It had previously been demolished and rebuilt after a fire in 1998. The original cinema was the ‘Ritz’, which having over 2,300 seats was one of the bigger theatres in the country. Built in 1937, it was in the Art Deco style, and had its own restaurant, and also had the facilities for live acts on stage, accompanied by a Wurlitzer 3Manual/8Ranks organ. After the cinema’s closure in 1972, it converted to bingo, its initial owners being Star, then EMI and Coral, before Gala Bingo took over.
Other Lost Halls In The Area
Some views from inside the club, both as the Buzz Bingo when it closed, and in its prior branding as a Gala Bingo club. The images have come from the club’s old facebook page, photographers unknown.
