Raising Roof Central Hall Skegness

By Angela Gooch on December 15th, 2008

Engineers Raise the Roof at Skegness Central Hall

I went to see an old Skegnessian recently, about obtaining permission to photograph a ‘relic of Skegness past’ (I hope to reveal this secret in a few weeks time). The elderly gentleman was a hive of information. One of the things he told me, was about the Bingo Hall on Roman Bank. He said it used to be called the Central Hall. I’d already suspected this but Mr X, we’ll call him for now, confirmed it. The Central Hall was built by John Henry Canning who also built the houses on Cecil Avenue. I haven’t got a date for the building as yet.
Now for the amazing story – old Mr X told me that the roof of the Central Hall had been completely lifted upwards, in its entirety. A new gallery was inserted, and the roof replaced!
By sheer coincidence, whilst I was studying the old Skegness newspapers, I found the original story.
The 1933 newspaper article about the Central Hall’s transformation into a cinema reads [the engineers] have succeeded in lifting the roof of the building bodily from the walls. The roof has been lifted 9′ 4” to make room for a gallery. Weighing sixty-five tons, the roof was lifted without the breaking of a slate or the roof lights.’

I immediately went to investigate the present day Bingo Hall. Sure enough, both the side walls have a layer of obviously different bricks to the original ones. Examine the photos below. There are more relics of the old, original roof at the rear of the building. Stay tuned for an update on this!
I’ve no evidence yet as to whether the old newspaper picture is of the front or the rear aspect of the Bingo Hall.
The last photo reminds us of how the Bingo Hall looks today. The entire fascia is reminiscent of the 1930s Modern Architecture prevalent in Skegness.

RAISING THE ROOF.

Successful Engineering Feat at Skegness

The picture shows a very interesting phase of the work in connection with the re-construction of the Central Hal Skegness which is being transformed into a modern cinema.
The engineering work is being carried out by Messers C. and A. Guttridge, Constructural Engineers, of Burgh le Marsh and as the picture shows, they have succeeded in lifting the roof of the building bodily from the walls.
The roof has been lifted 9ft. 4in. to make room for a gallery. Weighing sixty-five tons, the roof was lifted without the breaking of a slate or the roof lights.
We understand that the new building seating accommodation for 1,035.
As is generally known, the premises have been acquired by Mr. Henri De Mond, whose ease of the Lawn Theatre expires within a few weeks.