The last number was called just a couple of days ago at New Century Bingo’s historic Portsmouth Road hall in Woolston, Southampton.  Formerly a Picturehouse, since the 1970s the hall had become home to a membership of 4,500 bingo faithful, with 1,500 regulars playing every week.  One fan, Mary Allott from Thornhill, remembered seeing the film Bridge Over the River Kwai there many years ago when the hall was a cinema.

“Then I came to play bingo,” said Mary, “and I’ve been coming here ever since.  I don’t know what I’ll do now that the old place has closed,” she added.

Another long-time patron, 74-year-old Pam Holmes from Kanes Hill, used to play bingo in the old hall with her late husband.  “He loved coming here,” she said. “It feels like the one place we can still be together.  Now I’ll have to say goodbye to him all over again."

According to staff members at the venue, the closure is due to the ubiquitous impact of online bingo, combined with the smoking ban in enclosed public places which came into force on July 1 this year.  “We can no longer carry on, with people staying home to play bingo on the Internet, or heading outside to smoke,” said Assistant Manager Rachel Edwards.  “We’ve suffered badly since the smoking ban, and online bingo has hit everyone,” Miss Edwards added.

She was saddened by the closure, especially for those members who regularly travelled for miles to get to the hall, who had now lost a vital community asset.  Many elderly patrons from Southampton’s east side had grown to depend on the historic community centre at Woolston, according to Miss Edwards.  However, she believed that New Century Bingo had virtually no choice but to close down the venue.

It is not yet known what will happen to the old building. Mr Paul Redwood, Acting Manager of the company’s Shirley bingo hall, said that the smoking ban was affecting halls all around the country.  “Many independent venues are closing, or have already closed,” said Mr Redwood, who added that the company had no plans to close the Shirley site.

A number of the Woolston staff are being transferred to Shirley, while others have taken voluntary redundancy, according to caller Kevin Greenman. “It’s very sad for members who have been coming here for years, and it’s just as sad for Woolston,” he added. Woolston lies on the junction of the River Itchen and Solent Way, directly across from Southampton’s Eastern Docks.

The main beneficiary of New Century Bingo’s closure will be Gala Bingo’s new Thornhill site, itself part of a £25 million development planned for Bursledon Road.