Date of closure: July 2020
Address (for reference only):
Buzz Bingo (Lost Halls)
Market Street
Chorley
PR7 1BD
The building itself is a good example of a 1930s suburban cinema, the auditorium being built back off the road, the entrance and front signage being sandwiched between residential and commercial buildings that may have been part of the same development project. The ‘Odeon’ opened in 1938, and had seating for over 1,500. It had a familiar ‘fin-tower’ which remains today, although the logo has been replaced with Buzz’s. It closed in 1971, and after a couple of years out of action was transformed into the Tudor Bingo Club which was purchased later by Gala, and then changed to Buzz Bingo in 2018.
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.
We will be keeping an eye on the building to see what the plans are for its future. Its striking interior design and layout are pretty special, and we’d like to see them maintained in the future. We will update of plans when we find out ourselves.
As you can see from the photos, the interior of the club harks back to the golden days of cinema, with huge art deco wall decorations surrounding the stage. The staggered levels and balcony hint to its former life as a cinema also. With the bright colours, it really is a spectacular hall! Photographers unknown.
