Date of closure: 1986
Address (for reference only):
Mecca Bingo
Mare Street
Hackney
London
E8 1EJ
At the moment we do not have details of the events that led up to, or any of the circumstances surrounding the closure of Mecca Bingo Hackney. We do however know a bit about the venue’s history.
Opened in 1901, the Hackney Empire was a large theatre with seating capacity of over 1,000. It’s main function being a theatre, it did also show films; in fact the venue was originally designed with a projection box.
The building was also used as a television studio after its closure in 1963, and then as a Mecca Bingo hall, which opened in 1963, but sadly closed in 1986. The good news is that despite the demise of bingo, entertainment lives on in the form of theatre, and the building has been restored.
If you have any further details that may assist us, and you would like to share them with our readers, we would love to hear from you. If you let us know what you know, we will put the details online with your name credited (if you wish, or we can credit the article as anonymous). You will be doing a service to the bingo community and posterity by helping us record details of all Britain’s bingo clubs and halls. Thank you.
By Gareth Whieldon (August 2012)
Other Lost Halls In The Area
The Hackney Mecca Bingo club was once the very grand Hackney Empire, a theatre, and sometime cinema. With seating for not much more than 1,000, it wasn’t one of London’s larger theatres, but it was quite a stunning piece of architecture, both on the exterior, and the interior. The shots below which were very kindly provided by Charles S.P. Jenkins also show some great detailed shots of the interior design which like some other theatres could be referred to as artwork.
As you can see below, as soon as you arrived, you were greeted with a beautifully constructed door, and that marvellous mosaic tiled threshold. The facade is not only structurally impressive, but if you look at some shots you will see great attention to detail. Once inside the visitor wasn’t let down either, as the theatre has to be one of the most lavish in the country; the shot of the auditorium, is a stunning vista. No matter what your tastes are, it can’t be denied that it is awe inspiring. It isn’t just the arches and the structure, but the relief work and the ceiling are incredibly detailed.
If you have any photos from this lost hall, be it of its interior, the staff, special events, parties, customers and more; and you’d like to share them here, please contact us to arrange adding them to the site.
