Summary
A Victory/Parish memorial hall by the architect F Harrison opened in 1920.
Reasons for Designation
St Cuthbert's Victory/Parish Hall, designed by F Harrison and opened in 1920, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: the hall is a well-executed building that uses good quality material and carefully echoes the architectural style of the adjacent Grade II* listed Parish church of St Cuthbert;
* Historic significance: it commemorates the members of the parish and residents of the town who served in the First World War with great events on the world stage;
* Intactness: the hall still functions as intended when constructed and remains little-altered internally and externally;
* Group value: it is closely related to a number of Grade II listed structures that are in effect satellites of the Grade II* listed Parish church of St Cuthbert.
History
The Victory Hall, also known as the Parish Hall, east of the church of St Cuthbert, Lytham, was built at a cost of £7,000 to a design by the architect F. Harrison of Lytham and Accrington, and opened in 1920 when it was dedicated by the retiring Lord Bishop of Manchester, the Rt. Rev. E A Knox. Great care was taken with the design of the Victory Hall to echo the architectural style of the 1834-built Church of St Cuthbert (Grade II*).
Details
A Victory/Parish Hall opened in 1920 and built to a design by the architect F Harrison of Lytham and Accrington. It is built in the Perpendicular style using red brick with sandstone dressings beneath a slate roof and is rectangular in plan.
EXTERIOR: the hall is of six bays beneath a pitched roof and is flanked to either side by lower two-bay service wings, that to the west beneath a half-pyramid roof, that to the east beneath a half-hipped roof. The hall's north and south elevations have tall, three-light, elliptical-arched windows with the second and fifth bays being taller and set within gables flanked by tall buttresses. Other buttresses rise above the eaves height at each corner of the hall and in the centre of each elevation. On the south elevation each service wing has a porch with diagonal buttresses, elliptical arches and crenellated parapets above. The west service wing has two two-light windows to the south elevation, a door and a mix of one and two light windows to the left return, and one blocked and one three-light window to the rear elevation. The east service wing has a door and a two-light window east of the porch, three two-light windows to the right return, and two casement windows to the rear elevation.
INTERIOR: the hall can be accessed from either service wing. It has a wooden floor and an elliptical-arched ceiling with beams springing from external buttresses. Each three-light window has leaded lights and a stained glass shield towards the top of the central light. The west wall has a centrally-placed war memorial affixed depicting the Roll of Honour. Doors in the hall's east wall give access to storage space. The east service wing contains the parish office recently subdivided into offices, kitchen and WC. The east service wing has a small entrance hall, kitchen, storeroom, WC and a staircase giving access to two small upper rooms.
