Gala Bingo / Buzz Bingo Hall - Chatham - medway

 Buzz Bingo/ Gala Bingo Hall

Date  January 2025 

Location: Chatham 

Delmoished  - No 

I have known about the bingo hall ever since it closed down in 2020, and I have always wanted to get inside. One random Thursday evening, I finally had the chance. I was excited! Living in the Medway area, I used to go to that bingo hall before it closed, so it holds some special memories for me.

Once I arrived at the bingo hall, I walked in and met up with my friends who had come with me. We spent about an hour to an hour and a half inside, and it was fun exploring the place.

It was fun to see the hall and behind-the-scenes areas of some places that you wouldn't normally access. This hall is quite large; I remember it being smaller.

 

Unfortunately, Buzz Bingo in Chatham closed down in 2020, becoming one of the many venues affected by COVID-19, along with 26 other sites across the UK. The building was acquired by a housing company with plans to convert the former bingo hall.

 

This site had been operating for around 80 years as a venue, originally serving as a cinema before being transformed into a bingo hall. It started as Gala Bingo but suffered a fire in 1998 and almost faced demolition. However, due to public demand, it was rebuilt and reopened as a bingo hall in the early 2000s, continuing operations until its closure in 2020.

 

A budget of £9.5 million is now allocated to convert the site into 174 flats and a few other developments.

Old Brook Pumping Station - Chatham

Old Brook Pumping station 

Date: October 2022

Location: Medway

Public or Abandoned: Public - Once a month

Demolished:  No

As this is only open once a month i thought i head down and check out, Living pretty local it only took us 10 mins to get down there we parked up and went and had a look at the site,  its a nice little gem in Medway towns,  we were in and out within 20 mins as it only small place but worth the visit when it open, 

so old brook pumping station is owned by Medway council, the site is open on the first Saturday of each month,  The pumping station was used up until 1980s, 

Argos - Chatham Medway ( Permission visit)

 
Argos Chatham 

Date:   June 2022

Location: Chatham

Public or Abandoned:  was abandoned - now in use

Demolished:  No

As of September 2022 - GSA charity now owns Argos.

This was a permission visit of the old Argos in Chatham

With the permission of the manager of the GSA charity they allowed me into the building to take some photographs of what it used to look like before they took over the building with their new charity shop that replaced the old Argos building

I met the manager and they let me the building to look around, and wow Argos had more in store than I ever noticed 😅 I never realized how big the building was :O, I knew people who worked there but that was about it

It was fun wording around the building for an hour just looking around each floor to see what was left behind even know most of the stuff had been stripped already most of all the little cafe on the top floor surprise me the most, even know place closed down in January 2022 there was papers and other things backdating to 2001! Nothing on the current date


So Argos Chatham was in Chatham high street for over 30 years and closed its doors in January 2022, it happened to be one of the 405 stores that shut its doors, to save money, there are only 100 stand-alone stores left

The Chatham branch moved into a Sainsbury's store.