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This includes full voting rights on Friends organisational matters and guarantees delivery of all Friends literature including our newsletter.

Remember, every penny raised by the Friends of Lytham Hall goes exclusively towards the Hall.

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NEWS

The latest news from the Friends of Lytham Hall

Return of John Talbot's Billiard table

John Talbot Clifton, a keen billiards player, died in 1928. The story goes that Harry hated the game and was rebuked by his father for not playing well.

By 1933 Harry had got control of his inheritance and began to dissipate it. One of the first things to go was the billiard table from the Hall. He offered it to the Conservative Club if they would remove it immediately and they apparently arranged to move it quickly. There it has stayed, with a plaque saying:

"Presented to the Lytham Conservative Club By the President, Henry T. de Vere Clifton; Esq., December 1933"

We learned from Marcus and Catherine Hilton that the Club, which is now re-named The Hastings Club was about to undergo a major re-furbishment and that they no longer needed the table. They would be willing to return it to the Hall if the costs of removal were met.

The conditions were spookily similar to those used by Harry Clifton i.e. if you want it come and get it, but quickly! John Miller of HTNW confirmed that its return would be welcome. The Friends offered and subsequently paid the moving costs of £400, and, before we knew it the 5 piece slate bed table was back in the room it had left in such a hurry over 75 years ago. The table has been converted to snooker, and the score board etc is not the original. However, it sits in the room which clearly was purpose built to house it, and looks good. We have photographs taken in the 1920's showing it then in situ and intend to display these

Restoration of the old kitchen chimney

As mentioned in previous newsletters the plans have been passed to allow the restoration of the chimney in the old kitchen. We are pleased to announce that, thanks to a very generous donation by one of our members, we are now in a position to fund the entire rebuilding costs including the finished chimney entrance.

The old kitchen at Lytham Hall is part of the 16th/17th house and originally had a huge hearth which would have consumed wood and peat. Later a cast iron Victorian range would have been installed, but now there is only a very uninteresting space in the chimney area. HTNW have decided to restore the whole chimney so that a real fire can be lit once again thus making the room more cosy and welcoming. This work will begin in June. It has not been easy to decide what sort of open hearth to create as the room has undergone so many changes in its existence (perhaps even the monks warmed their toes!). However, the new grate is being made by Trapp Forge who renovated the main entrance gates and we look forward to seeing it.

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