Shrewsbury Buzz Bingo – Castle Gate

Shrewsbury’s Buzz Bingo occupied a genuinely historic building, the former Granada Theatre and Cinema on Castle Gates, and its bingo life ran for very nearly 53 years. The building opened in 1934, designed by Cecil Masey for Sidney R. Jones’s Granada circuit, seating more than 1,000 for a mix of films and live stage shows. Unusually for a purpose-built Granada theatre, it never had an organ, but it more than made up for it on the entertainment front, hosting The Beatles in 1963 during the Helen Shapiro tour and The Rolling Stones in 1964. Live shows ended in 1972 and the cinema closed on 31 March 1973, but the building barely had time to sit empty, reopening as a Granada Bingo Club just over two weeks later on 17 April 1973.

From there it followed a clean, unbroken line of bingo ownership, becoming Gala Bingo in May 1991 and then Buzz Bingo in June 2018, with the auditorium’s basic theatre bones surviving intact throughout. Grade II listed since 1995, it retained its distinctive vertical 1930s frontage and offered a fairly typical modern bingo package by its final years, with 90-ball and electronic bingo, gaming machines, a bar, restaurant, cashpoint and hearing loop, alongside around 30 parking spaces and a location just a couple of minutes from Shrewsbury railway station. Buzz Bingo announced in January 2026 that the club would close following the sale of the site to a developer, with the final session held on Saturday 31 January 2026, stressing the closure reflected nothing on staff or customers. It brought to an end nearly 92 years of continuous entertainment use in the building, and while its future is now uncertain, its listed status means the old Granada, Beatles gig and all, isn’t simply going to be flattened without a fight.

Other Lost Halls In The Area

• Telford Mecca Bingo – Southwater Square
• Wolverhampton Mecca Bingo – Bentley Bridge Park
• Wolverhampton Mecca Bingo – Bilston Street
• Wolverhampton Mecca Bingo – Skinner Street
• Wolverhampton Buzz Bingo – Bushbury Lane

A couple of views of the interior by Playing Bingo contributor Ian Grundy. A view of the hall itself and a detail of the huge decorative panels inside.