Newsletter 336 - February 2005

SNOWDROPS AT LYTHAM HALL - Marion Coupe

The wonderful carpet of snowdrops that appears in the woods at Lytham Hall each winter is a sight not be missed. The Friends of Lytham Hall had the idea of opening up the grounds at this time and it is now a regular event. Under the management of the Heritage Trust for the North West, the grounds have been open each Sunday in February for several years now.

The snowdrops are mainly to be found in the deciduous woodland surrounding the hall. There are several different sorts, besides the common snowdrop, some taller and some with double flowers. Old English names for this the first flower of spring include Candlemas Bells, Fair Maids of February, and White Ladies, all connected to the religious festival of Candlemas on February 2nd when white robed maidens walked at the feast of the purification of the Virgin Mary. Like many religious festivals, it was used to predict the weather:

If Candlemas day be fair and bright, Winter will have another flight.
If Candlemas day be shower and rain, Winter is gone and will not come again. (Traditional)

Click HERE for more Lytham Hall snowdrop pictures

Opening times are:

· Each Sunday of the month of February 2005 .
· Times: 11am -3.00pm (gates shut 3.30pm)

· Admission: Adults £2.50 : Children £1: Family ticket, 2 adults + 3 children £6.00

· Parking within the grounds is only available to the disabled but Aegon Insurance, situated opposite the Main Gates, has kindly given free use of its car park for visitors to the Hall grounds.

· Light refreshments in the tearoom.

Additional information on opening can be acquired from the Lytham Hall Office, Ballam Rd, Lytham FY8 4JX. Tel 01253 736652 - email: lytham.hall@htnw.co.uk

RESTORATION OF THE MAIN GATES

A recent development at the Hall has been the restoration of the main gates and gate houses, undertaken by the Heritage Trust for the North West with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The 21 foot high wrought iron gates at the entrance to Lytham Hall in Ballam Road were re-hung in October 2004 after several months restoration work. This was
carried out by two craftsmen blacksmiths, Christopher Lee and Bill Carter, of the specialist firm Trapp Forge, at Simonstone, Burnley. Although it is difficult to date the gates, it is estimated that they are about 150 years old, which would coincide with the re-location of the entrance from its original site in Hastings Place, Lytham, to
the present area after the construction of the railway line from Lytham to Blackpool.
Whitesides of Preston originally made the gates. They are 95 per cent wrought iron, with some cast iron and brass. Certain screw heads, and the use of cast iron, have led the blacksmiths to estimate that they were not made before 1856. Each gate weighs about three quarters of a ton.

There are two rooms in each of the lodges, on either side of the road. A family lived in each lodge in the past, with outdoor washhouse and privy. The last inhabitants lived on both sides however and crossed the drive to go to bed! The lodges have not been lived in for many years now and were in need of the renovation and repair, which has recently been carried out.

THE CIVIC TRUST AND PATHFINDERS - Malcolm Burnett

The Civic Trust is the national focus for nearly 1000 Civic Societies representing over 300,000 individual members. They provide us with advice, technical assistance and encouragement as well as using their leverage to give us access to appropriate and
economical insurance.

The Trust, whose Patron is HRH The Prince of Wales, is involved in a variety of areas which benefit communities around the country. They raise awareness of excellence in development standards through Civic Trust and Green Flag awards and more recently Heritage Open Days. They work with DEFRA on a wide range of environmental improvement projects and operate as a not-for profit consultancy to promote effective urban regeneration.

Importantly they campaign for changes to national and local policy, and for changes in attitude amongst the wider public, all driven by the quest to improve the quality of life in towns and cities.

Recently The Trust offered us the opportunity to attend their Pathfinders programme that is being held for the third year with the sponsorship of English Heritage. The course was designed in direct response to the needs of Civic Societies and broadly covers quality urban design, working with the community, influencing your local authority, and making a real difference by building the effectiveness of the local
group.

Two of the three weekend courses, which I have attended, were hosted by many senior Civic Trust leaders and attended by Civic Societies from various parts of the country including Salisbury, Chester, Windsor, Oxford, and Wakefield. We were given a broad overview of the Trust, a day of visits to a variety of successful
projects in the Nottingham area and some practical advice regarding fund raising, grants, and project management.

Perhaps the most useful aspect of the weekend was the opportunity to interact with the representatives of other societies. We share many of the same challenges and opportunities and whilst rightly each local organisation has its own priorities we can use usefully share our experience in many activities.

You will be pleased to know that societies in the Northwest are particularly active with the Trust and that is certainly the case for Lytham St.Annes.

WITCH WOOD - Rob Wilkinson

Walkers through Witch Wood will have noticed that we have not replaced the broken latches on the two pedestrian gates as previously these were banging shut rather nosily. To reduce noise we have fitted rubber stops.

We are still awaiting Fylde Borough Council to place dog bins at Alder Grove and Ringwood Close but, unfortunately their wheels turn exceedingly slow and we do not have a delivery date.

The information boards for the three main entrances to the wood are being manufactured and these should be installed by the end of February. As we have mentioned previously, these explain that we own the wood and manage it for the benefit of the public.

We have been fortunate that the recent storms only caused minimal damage to the trees. Two dead trees and one or two large branches came down. Where these were near the paths they were quickly cut up and removed.

There will be working parties in the wood each Friday morning, except when meeting on the following Saturdays: March 12th, April 9th, May 14th, June 11th. We meet at 9.30 am at the tree nursery (near Skew Bridge entrance). There is still much we wish to do in the wood, plus tree planting in the local community, so the more helpers we have the more we will be able to achieve. So, if you wish to join our volunteers, just turn up or contact either Bill Thompson on 737795 or Rob Wilkinson on 727611.

HOME AND AWAY EXHIBITION, LYTHAM HERITAGE CENTRE

One of our members, Geoff Biggs, a local artist, is holding a joint exhibition with Julian Heywood, also an artist, at the Lytham Heritage Centre from Wednesday 30th March 2005 to Sunday 17th April 2005. Julian's work will be local scenes in watercolour. Geoff's work will be very different, mostly of abroad, in acrylic and watercolour. Hence the exhibition is entitled 'Home and Away'.

Geoff is very kindly donating the proceeds of any pictures he sells during the exhibition to three local charities - namely:- Trinity Hospice in the Fylde,
Lytham Heritage Centre and our own Lytham St. Annes Civic Society.

Members and their friends are most welcome to visit the Lytham Heritage Centre, Henry Street - tel.730787. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10 am - 4 pm - Free Admission.

THREATS TO THE HERITAGE AND CHARACTER OF THE TOWN - Marion Coupe

As repeated many times in these pages, we believe that local architecture / heritage / character are all things which help to define and sustain a community. Local character in terms of the built environment is much cherished but easily destroyed by the insensitive.

There are a number of threats which involve unnecessary destruction of local features, the most obvious of which is to the Town Hall. Don Moore, chairman of Defend the Dunes, wrote a telling letter to the local paper recently in the face of claims that the Town Hall was structurally unsound. It is claimed that the shell or façade of this fine Porritt building cannot be saved, that demolition is the only answer. We look then at the totally derelict shell of the former Blackburn Home in the dunes where a battle was fought and won by developers to prove that it was sound enough to re-build. This is nonsense; the Home is a ruin. The Town Hall is not a ruin, it is a landmark building and every effort should be made to save and find an alternative use for it. We have to ask - in whose interests are our council managers acting when they decide on this course of action? They will get more money for the site if they demolish the Town Hall - but how will this help the town or its residents? One more piece of the heritage of St Annes will have gone.

Another sad development is the persistence of the council in trying to sell off part of Ashton Gardens. There is a principle here - we believe that public parks given to local people should be theirs in perpetuity. Chopping off bits at the edges will not do. Neither should developers be allowed to build flats right up to the edge of the park - thereby not needing to put in their own landscaping. The privacy of those who use the park is affected, and the bulk of the proposed flats will dominate. What is quite appalling is that local people have made their views to the council known about all this - by turning up in their hundreds at public meetings, and writing hundreds of letters protesting about the disposal of land. Why did we ever think the council was supposed to represent us?

Lowther gardens - there is still a threat to build an extension to the Pavilion, thereby blocking off the open aspect to the Green. Our council has its eye on it for more accommodation (!). The Friends of Lowther will celebrate the park's centenary this year and it would be sad indeed if we all had to try and fight off yet another insensitive proposal here.

LATE NEWS ON ASHTON GARDENS

We hear that after a legal challenge, Fylde Borough Council has agreed that Ashton Gardens is "charity land" - that when Lord Ashton gave money to buy the park for the people a de facto charity was created. The Charity Commission therefore regulates its disposal. This should also be relevant to the granting of rights over the land, which the developer is seeking.-

ST ANNES ON THE SEA TOWN COUNCIL STEERING GROUP

John Bainbridge is the secretary of this group - which has steadfastly pursued its aim of providing a voice for St Annes. There have been a series of meetings to instruct possible parish councillors about their role. On 15th February 2005 there will be a Public Meeting at the Church Road Methodist Church Hall. "What does Saint Anne's on the Sea mean to you?"

On 1st April 2005 - The new parish of Saint Anne's on the Sea will be created. On 6th May 2005 the election of parish councillors is anticipated.

PUBLIC MEETING ABOUT LYTHAM GREEN

There will be a meeting on Friday February 4th at Lytham Assembly Rooms to discuss proposals about the eastern part of the Green. These include ideas from
Lytham Heritage Group about the old Lifeboat House, which has become semi-derelict. It is in the ownership of the council and in need of maintenance. There are
also proposals from the ParkView4 You group to place play equipment in the area. Green Flag Awards

We were invited to the presentation of the Green flag Awards for the north of England at Preston Guildhall in November. It was good to see that Fylde Borough Council collected two, a repeat for Lowther Gardens, and a new flag for Fairhaven Lake. The Civic Trust operates this scheme, which aims at excellence in public parks.

LOCAL STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS (LSP'S)

It may be the apparent failure of local democracy which has led the government to instigate the setting up of Local Strategic Partnerships (LSP's). Local groups and individuals were called to a meeting at Pontins conference centre over two years ago to discuss ways of making local government more responsive. Nothing further was heard until we were called to a meeting last November of the LSP Environment sub committee. We learned that an executive had been set up in the interim, which had held a number of meetings. There is no representation for environmental groups such as ours on this body and we cannot really understand who decided on the makeup of this executive. Besides representatives from the council itself it includes New Fylde Housing, Fylde Housing Partnership, and Newfield Jones Homes. We need to know more.

THE UNSEEN ART COLLECTION

You will know that the Fylde Borough Council Art Collection is worth a good deal of money and that it is a significant group of largely Victorian paintings, sculpture and other artefacts given to the town by, among others, Alderman Dawson. One painting alone is worth over £1m. Until a few years ago, when the new entrance to the Town Hall was built, it was possible to go through the original entrance to the building on the seaward side, experience the Minton tiled floors and walls, the stained and etched glass, carved stair balusters, marble sculptures - and see some of the paintings hanging on the walls. Over the years, some of the works have gone missing. Some have spent time at Lytham Hall, most reside in the Town Hall basement. This is an issue about which local people feel strongly - although at times enthusiasm to display the art works gives way to cynicism and despair. The appointment of an Arts Officer, who has now left, made no difference to the situation.

In all the discussions about the re-location / demolition of the Town Hall the Art Collection has not been mentioned. We note however that it has been mentioned in the planning application for a supermarket by Booths, at Haven Road Lytham. Are they really going to provide the security which would be necessary? It could be time for the council to formulate a policy - this issue is arguably more important in the long term than where the council carry out their administration.

ANNUAL COFFEE MORNING

This event will be held at Lytham Assembly Rooms on Saturday 7th May 2005. Last year we raised £400 for the Society. Now is the time to look out those unwanted Christmas presents - chocolates you shouldn't eat perhaps? We need raffle and tombola prizes, bric a brac, home baking (always popular), books and plants (pots of herbs are always good). Items may be left at the offices of Coupe Bradbury in Bath Street, Lytham, given to any committee member, or brought along on the day. If you would like to help on the morning please let Barbara Salter know (Tel. 730026). Above all please come along with your friends and enjoy a cup of coffee and chat.

THE NEWSLETTER

This is a chance to offer our thanks to Dennis Leyland who has produced the newsletter for the last few years, in addition to his other jobs as Treasurer and Webmaster. Dennis has ably and efficiently overseen the collation and printing of the newsletter, and considerably increased the number of pictures we were able to include.

John Bentham has already taken over the website and is now in charge of the newsletter. We are very grateful to him for making the time and wish him a smooth ride - we have to change printers this time too!

MEMBERSHIP - Barbara Salter

Membership has been steadily rising and now stands at 427. Please note that Barbara's phone number is 730026, not as in the orange programme card. Please phone her if you are not sure whether you have paid or not.

ENGLISH HERITAGE SAVE OUR STREETS CAMPAIGN - Janet Turner

Have you noticed how our streets are becoming more and more cluttered with all manner of signs and obstacles? Last autumn English Heritage launched a Save our Streets campaign. EH say "The towns and villages of England are being blighted by superfluous signs, haphazard paving and obstructed footways. As a result our streets are losing their local distinctiveness and character. Save our Streets is a campaign to return England's streets to places where people want to be, where all street users are accommodated and where communities thrive as a result.

Know a cluttered street near you but don't know what to do about it? Why not carry out a street audit and send it to your local councillor. He or she is publicly elected to the council to represent your local area. The more street audits they receive the more likely the council is to take action to improve the street quality."

A copy of the EH form is included with this newsletter. Please send completed forms to Fylde Borough Council, Town Hall, Lytham St. Annes, FY8 1LW, and let us know of any really bad patches in the town.

CATALOGUING THE SOCIETY'S ARCHIVE - Dennis Leyland

It is over 40 years since the formation of the Society and, in that time, quite a collection of documents has built up. Storage has become a problem, and a considerable number will be passed to the Lancashire Record Office, to be available to anyone for future research. The documents provide a contemporary view of developments in the town as well as a summary of Society activities.

Some archive items will be kept, generally by Society members, to provide a ready reference to past activities. To be able to make best use of the information, however, there is need for indexing and cataloguing, which is quite an undertaking, but interesting and satisfying.

We should be most grateful if some members could find time to help with the tasks, which can be parcelled to suit the individual.

Material to be kept includes:

Scrapbooks of press cuttings.

They always attract much interest, for example, when on show at Open Days. At present, they are kept up-to-date by Nancy White.

Newsletters and Annual Reports

A complete set has recently been collected together by Rob Wilkinson, but, to take full advantage of the content, an index is required so that any remembered item can readily be found.

It would be much appreciated if two or three members could each take a few copies, skim through them and make a list (preferably typed) of item headings, together with particular features of likely interest, for entry into a computerised catalogue.

We are also considering scanning, or photographing, the publications to provide computer storage in digital form. Perhaps someone would be willing to help with this rather more technical task.

Photographic archive

Prints - Cataloguing was begun in preparation for the listed-buildings book, there then being over 400 prints to be recorded and managed. The catalogue is in the form of a computer database, which can easily be searched to find required prints. Prints produced before and after the 'book' exercise still require sorting and cataloguing.

Slides - The majority have been inherited and we are grateful to Keith Dobson who, some time ago, sorted, referenced and recorded them, in a computer database. Some more recent slides need recording.

Post Cards - We purchased a set of about 1200 post cards, mostly from the early 1900s, in order to ensure that they were preserved, but also for them to be of use in comparing the town of that time with developments up to the present day. They are stored in four albums, but there is no index or catalogue. In order to allow searches of what we hold we are looking for some member(s) who could help sort, reference and record. It is interesting to see how the town looked in those days.

Digitising the images is also planned, and, largely for that purpose, we purchased a digital camera last year.

Would anyone interested please contact me, Dennis Leyland, tel. 735714

COMING EVENTS - Hilda Partingon

Thursday 17th February - Chadwick Hotel - 7.30pm

Philip Bailey Dip. Arch. dip. TP

Philip is the chairman of the Clitheroe Civic Society. Now retired as the Chief Planning officer of South Ribble, he can devote more time to conservation, which will be the subject of his talk. The Chadwick hotel is a popular venue. This promises to be an interesting evening, so do bring your friends along to give Philip a good reception.

Wednesday 16th March - Assembly Rooms - 7.30pm

John Westmoreland -Audio Visual Presentation

John's audio-visual presentation promises us an evening of wandering through some of the best of our picturesque countryside. This will be an evening of enjoyment for all lovers of nature. Do bring your friends along and assure John of a good audience.

Saturday 16th April - Coach Visit

Halifax - The Piece Hall and Shibden Estate

An early departure will ensure us of being in Halifax for 10 am .On our arrival we will be welcomed by some of the members of the Halifax Civic Society. Coffee is being arranged for us before we begin our tour of Piece Hall and the square Chapel. The Piece Hall is a Grade 1 listed building set in the heart of Halifax. It consists of a large courtyard surrounded by galleries in the classical style on three levels. It has been seen in many documentaries, feature films and T.V. productions, including the much-praised Brassed off! The old Square Chapel built in the 1770's and now used as an Art Centre, is a building of great merit and well worth a visit.

From Halifax we will travel the short distance to Shibden Hall to arrive for 12.30 / 1.00 pm. A selection of light lunches will be available in a special room designated for our group.

Shibden Estate is an area of over 37 Hectares of rolling parkland where one can wander through Bluebell and garlic woods. Within the grounds stands Shibden Hall a Historic family home built in 1420. There is also a folk museum. Entrance to the estate is free. There is a special concessionary charge of £2.50 for the hall. We plan to leave the hall at 4.30 / 5.00 pm.

A 53 seat coach has been booked and the cost is £8.00. An application form for tickets is enclosed with the newsletter and pick up points are noted. Members and friends are asked to book early for what promises to be an interesting day out. Closing date for booking is Monday 11th April.

Saturday 16th April - Churchtown - Garstang

Federation of Lancashire Civic Societies

Unfortunately there has been a clashing of dates for these two events. Anyone wishing to attend the Federation meeting please contact Graeme Fallows (737775).

Friday 29th April - Assembly Rooms - 7.30pm

Recital by students of Barbara Robotham

This is a special and popular event on our diary. Barbara's students will entertain us with a selection of songs. Having these students with us is always a delight. Do book early to ensure you do not miss this musical treat.

Coffee morning

Thursday 15th September - A.G.M. - Bowling Club

Coffee, apple pie and cheese

If you would like to comment on a planning application write to:

The Manager for the Built Environment
Fylde Borough Council
Town Hall
St Annes
FY8 1LW