Date of closure: March 2020
Address (for reference only):
Mecca Bingo (Lost Halls)
Corporation Street
Rotherham
S60 1NG
Rotherham’s Mecca deserved way more attention than it got. This was a genuine 1930s super-cinema in disguise, the Regal Cinema, opened December 1934 on Corporation Street, seating a whopping 1,825 and kitted out with a stage, three dressing rooms, a café, and even a Conacher theatre organ. It was Rotherham’s big night-out venue long before bingo entered the picture.
The building went through the full cinema-history rollercoaster. Odeon took it over in 1946 (and later converted the old café into a Victor Sylvester Dance Studio, showing Rank was already diversifying how the building was used), before selling up in 1975 to become the independent Scala Cinema. Unlike most Mecca conversions, which usually go straight from Odeon to bingo hall, Rotherham got this extra chapter as an indie cinema first. The Scala eventually shrank to using just the circle before shutting for good in 1983, bowing out with Porky’s II: The Next Day, not exactly a fitting swansong for a building this grand.
Bingo arrived almost immediately, first as Ritz Bingo, then later folding into the Rank/Mecca estate. The old sloped cinema floor turned out to be perfect for calling sessions, with great sightlines to the stage from every seat, and by its later years the club was running paper bingo, Mecca Max electronic terminals, a gaming machine area, bar and food service, just a couple of minutes from Rotherham Central station.
Like so many clubs, COVID killed it. It shut in March 2020 for lockdown and never reopened, with Rank making it official in May 2021. Developers immediately eyed it up for demolition and flats, but this is where Rotherham’s story flips the script. A heritage campaign got the building Grade II listed in November 2021, stopping the bulldozers in their tracks. The council bought it in late 2022 as part of the Forge Island regeneration scheme, and in 2025 signed off on stabilisation works while a long-term future is worked out. Unlike too many former Mecca buildings such as Birkenhead, Sittingbourne, and Plymouth that have vanished completely, Rotherham’s still stands, and thanks to that listing, it’s got a genuine shot at a second act.
Other Lost Halls In The Area
A couple of extra images of the Rotheram Mecca Bingo on Corporation Street, firstly a view of the exterior by Playing Bingo contributor Ian Grundy. Then a nice shot of the exterior signage at night by Jo Bryant.
