Welcome to the Friends of Lytham Hall web site.

RECENT HISTORY
Harry, the last of the Cliftons to own the Hall died in 1975 but the estate had already passed to his chief creditors, Guardian Royal Exchange, in 1963.

It was put up for sale by them in 1996.

The original Friends of Lytham Hall were a group of people in the forefront of attempts to raise money to buy it (and 78 acres of park and woodland) for the community, to save it from commercial or domestic development.

At the eleventh hour, British Aerospace stepped in with a donation to cover the near £1 million asking price and the Hall passed to Lytham Town Trust amid great jubilation.

It is now operated by the Heritage Trust for the North West (HTNW). The Friends are still the only group solely dedicated to the welfare of the Hall.

The contents of the Hall are still in the ownership of the successor insurance company, Axa, and money has yet to be raised to secure them.

Welcome

We believe that Lytham Hall is the finest Georgian house in the North West of England.

It has Grade One Listed Status and its parkland is also registered with English Heritage.

In his book 'Lancashire's Architectural Heritage' (1988), John Champness rightly says "The finest Georgian house in the County is, beyond question, Lytham Hall".

click here for larger image

The Hall

The Lytham Hall we see today is the most recent building on an ancient site.

The earliest settlement we know of was a 12th century Norman priory established by Benedictine monks from Durham.

The church of St Cuthbert was consecrated nearby and a number of buildings have been built on the sites of both church and hall .

Lytham and its acres of undrained moss and blowing sands were taken by the Crown at the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536.

There are clear remains at the rear of the Hall of 16th and 17th century buildings, including a long gallery. Thomas Clifton bought the estate in 1606 and is said to have built himself a new hall, although it probably incorporated parts of the old one. It had a typical Jacobean gabled façade, and, we think, faced south.

The present hall was built for Thomas Clifton by John Carr of York between 1752-64. There are a number of interesting features in the 78 acres of grounds several of them listed Grade Two:

	Near the hall is a large stable block with cobble courtyard, stables and tack room.
	An 18th century dove cote with a revolving ladder to enable egg collectors to reach the 850 nesting boxes
	A two seater privy
	A gardener's cottage set in to an ancient wall.
	A ruined boathouse near the lily pond
	Curtain's Pond which is thought to have provided ice for an ice house
	A mound which may have once supported a windmill
	A statue of Diana the Huntress
	The main gatehouse

Booking the Hall

To book the hall for weddings and other events please contact:
Operations Manager
Heritage Trust for the North West
Lytham Hall
Ballam Road
Lytham
FY8 4LE
Tel: 01253 736652
E-mail: lytham.hall@htnw.co.uk

Friends of Lytham Hall
Email: info@lythamhall.org
Registered Charity Number 1069442





The Friends of Lytham Hall are a registered charity acting as a support group for the hall.		We aim to heighten awareness of the Hall and of the Clifton Family, and their importance to the district