High Street West, Ritz Cinema (Mecca Bingo)

HER Number

9313

District

N Tyneside

Site Name

High Street West, Ritz Cinema (Mecca Bingo)

Place

Wallsend

Map Sheet

NZ26NE

Class

Recreational

Site Type: Broad

Cinema

Site Type: Specific

Cinema

General Period

20TH CENTURY

Specific Period

Mid 20th Century 1933 to 1966

Form of Evidence

Extant Building

Description

Former Ritz Cinema. Opened on 15 May 1939. Built for the Associated British Cinemas (ABC) chain. Designed by the firm Percy L. Browne, Son and Harding. The cinema could seat 1092 people in the stalls and 544 in the circle. It was in Art Deco style with sinuous lines of curving plaster and decorative grilles around the extraction vents. The Ritz Cinema closed on 8th September 1962 and was converted to a Mecca Bingo hall. This closed on 9 October 2011. Formed by two three-storey buildings linked by a single storey section in the middle. LOCAL LIST

Easting

429720

Northing

566340

Grid Reference

NZ429720566340

Sources

North Tyneside Council, Draft Local List Nominations, 2006; North Tyneside Council, November 2008, Register of Buildings and Parks of Special Local Architectural and Historic Interest SDP (Local Development Document 9); Harrison Ince Architects, January 2013, Design & Access Statement, JDW Wallsend; AB Heritage, 2015, Former Ritz Cinema, High Street West, Wallsend - Historic Buildings Recording