Llanelli Argos Bingo – Market Street

Argos Bingo was a long-running central Llanelli club with a theatrical past attached to its name. The Royalty Theatre opened on 26 December 1892 to a design by Swansea architect T. P. Martin, with contemporary reports suggesting room for over 1,000 and cinema records giving around 1,400. Early cinema pioneer Arthur William Haggar took it over in 1910, and by 1918 it was the Hippodrome. It hosted variety and theatre, with local heritage sources linking it to Charlie Chaplin, Marie Lloyd and Gracie Fields, then had a long cinema spell, with sound installed in 1930. It was still a cinema in 1966 before becoming an Argos Bingo Club, and the building was demolished in 1977. This was not the Llanelly Cinema on Stepney Street, which later became the Wetherspoon pub The York Palace.

The catch is that the Argos documented in modern times is at 23-25 Market Street, and it was very much alive in December 2018, when Llanelli MP Nia Griffith called a game at a charity event. Manager Nigel Griffiths said players had raised money for the NSPCC, Variety and Macmillan Cancer Support. We believe the club closed at during the Covid lockdown, and never reopened to play. There are various Urban Explorer photos of the interior of the club on Facebook, and it would appear to be in need of a complete strip out and refurb if it should ever be brought back to life. However, for now, it is here in the Lost Halls section.

Other Lost Halls In The Area

• Neath Top Ten Bingo – The Rope Walk
• Swansea Mecca Bingo – Cradock Street

Here are some photos of the Argos Bingo on Market Street from Twitter and Facebook, to give you a flavour of the club, its customers and decoration. The photographers are unknown, but if one of these is yours let us know and we’ll add a credit.

Also, if you have photos to add here, please contact us here to share them.