Former Regal Cinema

This cinema was designed by Blackmore & Sykes of Hull and built in 1934. It served as a bingo hall from 1989 until its closure in 2021.

Construction and Materials

The building has a steel frame with brick facings and concrete. The original decorative elements included faience (glazed terracotta) and painted-brick dressings, though all faience is now painted over. The entire structure sits on a concrete raft foundation embedded within the riverbed of the River Don. Windows are a mix of original metal frames and replacement uPVC. Rainwater goods are cast iron, and the auditorium block has a corrugated-metal roof covering. Floors are concrete.

Layout

The building has a slightly irregular square plan. The entrance block faces east onto Corporation Street, with canted (angled) corners at the north-east and south-east, and an elongated south-west corner. Behind the entrance block to the west lies the auditorium block. A small car park bounds the building to the north, an unnamed alleyway or lane runs along the south side, and a pedestrian walkway over the River Don borders it to the west.

Exterior

The building rises two storeys above a basement. The auditorium's hipped roof is visible from a distance, but the entrance block's flat roof is concealed behind its parapet.

Front (East) Elevation

The principal east elevation facing Corporation Street is five bays wide. The central three bays form a faienced frontispiece (now painted cream) containing the main entrance at ground level. A faience plinth (now painted black) runs along the entire east elevation and continues around the north and south returns of the entrance block.

The central bays are flanked by simplified pilasters with reeded detailing. Each pilaster has a torch-shaped flagpole holder at the top with carved rays of light behind. At ground level are three openings that originally contained entrance doorways with 12 doors (two pairs of double doors to each opening). The left-hand openings have been fully glazed as windows with polished-granite stallrisers, whilst those on the right have replacement recessed doors. Above the entrance openings is a deep flat canopy with spotlights on its underside.

At first-floor level are three slightly recessed, paired sets of cross windows with replacement plain uPVC glazing. Historic photographs show these originally had metal windows with patterned Art Deco glazing. Above these windows runs a carved band that continues across the rest of the elevation and around the corner returns. The uppermost section of the frontispiece forms part of a parapet concealing the roof, stepped at this point with a moulded frieze.

The outer bays flanking the entrance frontispiece were originally identically styled, with blind faience windows or advertisement panels at ground level and large first-floor windows with Art Deco glazing set within faience surrounds (all now painted). The first-floor windows now have replacement Art Deco-style uPVC glazing. At ground level on the right, a late 20th-century shop unit has been inserted with shop windows, polished-granite stallrisers, and a central entrance doorway.

Both the north-east and south-east corners are canted and clad with faience (now painted over). Both have tall first-floor windows with Art Deco-style replacement uPVC glazing. Scored decoration runs up and over each window and onto a blind panel bearing affixed, stylised relief lettering reading 'Bingo'. The south-east corner has a recessed ground-floor entrance accessed by a small flight of steps, but the corresponding north-east entrance has been removed and infilled with a late 20th-century shop window and polished-granite stallriser.

North Elevation

The north return of the entrance block has a large blind window or advertising panel (possibly originally glazed windows) on each floor set within faience surrounds (now painted), separated by a carved band. The ground-floor blind window has inserted ventilators.

To the right, the north elevation of the auditorium block is slightly taller with concrete copings to the parapet. The proscenium and stage are located at this north end of the building. At first-floor level is a cantilevered horn chamber projection (now also painted cream) with carved detailing and curved reeded corners. This acted as a speaker system for sound films and bears affixed signage reading 'MECCA Bingo'. Flanking the projection at ground level are exit doorways (the left one has been altered and built forward from its original recessed position) with windows above. The windows on the left retain their original metal glazing.

South Elevation

The south return of the entrance block has two boarded-over ground-floor windows and a large first-floor window with Art Deco-style replacement uPVC glazing, along with two modern air conditioning units. A carved band separates the floors.

The south elevation of the auditorium block to the left has a boarded-over ground-floor window in the same style as those on the entrance block return, followed by a series of exit doorways and bricked-up windows. At first-floor level are eight windows, some with shared lintels. All but two retain their original multipaned metal glazing.

West Elevation

The west elevation of the auditorium block has exit doorways and boarded-over windows at ground level, and windows of varying sizes at the upper levels with metal multipaned glazing. Two large windows set high up the elevation originally lit the auditorium but have been partially bricked up and reduced in size. A modern extractor flue is located towards the southern end. The roof parapet steps down from south to north across the elevation.

Interior

Despite later alterations, numerous original features survive internally, including original concrete stairs throughout and the decorative schemes in the auditorium and first-floor foyer. Late 20th-century suspended ceilings have been inserted into many interior spaces, and modern floor coverings largely conceal original floors. The interior of the building is said to be lined with specialist bricks designed to eliminate external noise.

Entrance Foyer

The entrance foyer has been altered and modernised, with some partitioning inserted and an altered reception desk area alongside the rear wall. However, the original stair leading up to the balcony foyer and the first-floor former cafe/restaurant survives in the south-west corner, along with some columnar-style detailing and channelled banded decoration on the rear wall. The foyer's ceiling, which sits above a late 20th-century suspended ceiling, has been stripped of plaster and original sunken ceiling recesses filled in, although their outline remains visible. Originally there was also a lift accessing the balcony foyer and cafe/restaurant, but this has been removed.

Stalls Foyer

A doorway in the entrance foyer's south wall leads through into a modernised space that originally formed the stalls foyer and incorporates the south-east entrance. A corresponding foyer at the northern end of the building, which originally served the front seats of the stalls, has been altered and partitioned and is no longer legible. The ceiling, which sits above a late 20th-century suspended ceiling, has lost any original decoration. The three large window openings visible externally on the south elevation have been concealed internally by modern wall plastering. A pair of double doors in the north-west corner leads through into the auditorium.

Auditorium

The auditorium largely retains its original decorative scheme (now painted in bold primary colours) with a streamlined proscenium arch flanked by tall Art Deco grilles, channelled banding detail, and a massive ceiling dome or rose. Originally there was concealed lighting in the dome and proscenium, but a modern lighting system has since been installed. The windows in the auditorium's side walls, which have been altered externally, are covered over internally, but their moulded frames are visible.

At the northern end the stage retains its original curved stair on the right; the one on the left has been replaced. The orchestra pit in front of the stage has been boarded over and hidden by modern carpet covering, and the organ has been removed. Three original dressing rooms survive underneath the stage.

The seating in the stalls has been removed and replaced by late 20th-century fixed bingo seating. At the rear of the stalls the projection room, originally located centrally as shown in a historic photograph, has been altered and converted into kitchen and bar service areas. Storage rooms are located behind. The underside of the balcony incorporates sunken lighting roundels and Art Deco ventilation grilles.

Balcony

The original seating tiers survive fully in the rear half of the balcony, but in the front half alternate tiers have been removed to enable the installation of late 20th-century bingo seating. Tip-up seats with built-in ashtrays and Art Deco metal end panels survive in the rear section of the balcony, and there is stepped decoration on the side walls alongside access stair flights. The balcony ceiling incorporates a large, pierced, Art Deco lozenge ceiling decoration (probably with concealed lighting originally) and channelled banding.

Two sets of double doors provide access from the balcony foyer, and further double doors at the top right of the balcony with leaded lights access a fire exit stair. Exit slips on each east and west side access further exits. The original balcony front with fluted decoration largely survives, although an additional safety barrier has been added on top of part of it and the central section facing the stage has been removed and replaced by a plain section. A section of the balcony front on the eastern side has also been removed to accommodate a late 20th-century stair inserted on the eastern side of the stalls to access the first-floor former cafe/restaurant, where openings have been inserted into the party wall between the former cafe/restaurant and the auditorium.

Balcony Foyer

The first-floor balcony foyer appears to retain much of its original decoration, including moulded banding on the walls, moulded cornicing, and a central ceiling 'fin'. Two pairs of double doors lead out onto the balcony; those to the north have replacement doors, whilst those to the south are original and incorporate leaded-light panels. Other original doors with leaded-light panels within the foyer provide access to toilets and a fire exit.

Partitioning has been inserted in the southern half of the foyer around the ceiling fin to create late 20th-century office space, and some of the foyer's windows are now contained within this space. The gentlemen's toilets at the southern end contain original cubicles with doors with glazed panels.

First-Floor Cafe/Restaurant

The former cafe/restaurant on the eastern side of the first floor has been heavily altered and subdivided to create office space, and some walls have been knocked through, including at the southern end and western side alongside the auditorium, but its original plan remains legible. The cafe's original channelled ceiling band decoration and deep coving survive in the southern half above a suspended ceiling. The eastern windows that originally lit the cafe are now concealed internally by later walling. A late 20th-century bar counter has been inserted in the southern half, along with some fixed-bench seating.