The people behind Lytham Hall tell us what’s next for the venue & reflect on the year just gone
Lytham Hall is largely considered to be the most important 18th century home in Lancashire but what’s next for the venue?
Over the past few months, two of the most interesting planning applications submitted to Fylde Council have revolved around the iconic Lytham Hall.
The first was an application for a new holiday let at the Gardener’s Cottage and the second was for a new 150 space car park.
With these two applications in mind, we wanted to see if there were any other plans in stall for Lytham Hall so we sat down for a chat with general manager Peter Anthony and Paul Lomax, the deputy general manager.
In the following interview, Peter and Paul tell us all about their future plans for the hall, their reflections on the year just gone and why Lytham Hall is so important not only to them, but for the whole of Lytham.
Why are you interested in opening up more holiday lets at Lytham Hall?
Peter: “It’s about putting a use to some of the less significant buildings that we have that have been out of service for numerous years, many decades. It was only last year that we started with the gatehouses. They were in quite an appalling state but they went through a rigorous restoration and we now enjoy around 100% occupancy. With the gardener’s cottage, we virtually want to do exactly the same.
“But of course, all this is about providing a sustainable plan for the future so Lytham Hall can always be protected. It is literally eye watering what it costs to run - ignoring the restoration projects that we've done, the sheer maintenance costs, the insurance, you name it.
Paul: “And we're not a private business, we're part of a charity called Heritage Trust North West so it's all about creating the extra funds to take this project on for the future generations.
“Like Peter said, the Gardener's Cottage has been just unused for decades. It's been a storage shed, basically. So it's really exciting for us to be able to turn that back into, historically, what it always has been and that is a mini residence. It's not going to be a permanent residence, like it was at one time for the head gardener - back in the day when the Clifton family had 80 odd staff- but it'll be nice to turn it back to what it was meant to be.”
Can you give a ballpark figure for how expensive it is to run Lytham Hall?
Peter: “In excess of 1 million pounds a year. Obviously the more you're spending on restoration projects, hopefully that becomes less and less. Once you’ve run out of the expensive restoration projects, you should really just be in maintenance but maintenance alone is a fortune. Surpluses have been used for restoring the hall year after year, we look forward to to the time when surpluses can be used on the nice things, like ‘oo shall we repaint the window frames or whatever’.”
Would you ever open up one of Lytham Hall’s grand rooms for a holiday let?
Peter: “Absolutely not. The grade one listed building is very, very, very, very precious. So yes, there'll be no inebriated people going in there and setting it on fire, I'm afraid, not on my watch anyway!”
Paul: “It’s a grade one listed l listed building, it's got a very intricate alarm system, it’s got museum status in its own right. So, yeah, it really wouldn't be the right thing to do- as nice as it might be to sleep in one of the grand bedrooms. We're not looking at it being some kind of hotel.”
Peter: “We do have a vast stable block that is potentially for use as holiday lets in the future. It's going to cost a fortune to actually restore that area because it's quite a large building and in quite a state but they're all ideas. It would make a lovely kind of retail space as well, with local crafts and that kind of thing. We utilize every little corner of it that we can because you have to when your costs are so high.”
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And why is a new car park something that Lytham Hall needed?
Peter: “It's not really a car park as such, it's an area that could be used for overspill car parking for events, whether it be the proms or some of our outside concerts, Even things like school holidays, half terms, we can have some trouble parking everybody. One thing we have to do quite often is start parking people on the immediate front lawns that are right next to the actual asset itself. That's not ideal: I don't think people like to turn up to a stately home and see a car park literally metres away from its front door, but we do have to resort to that sometimes so this green car park is to put an end to that.”
Talking of events, can you tell me some of your favorite that have gone on throughout 2024?
Peter: “The events are absolutely vast. We've tried to put something on for every taste. So we have singers, comedians, the proms, theater, you name it. I don't think any in particular are my favourite, they all just kind of slot into the program very, very well.”
Paul: “Yeah there's never a quiet month because we're open all year round whereas a lot of stately homes close down for the winter and reopen at Easter. If you're going from the start of the year, the start of our season is the snow drop season which has been very popular, that then gently rolls into Easter and before you know it, you've got your open air theater plays. We also do outdoor picnic concerts, like we had a fabulous Elton John tribute last year, we had a Beatles tribute. Then of course there’s the Lytham Proms which we first did with Cuff and Taylor but we've now taken that on ourselves. This year, we had G4 and other amazing artists. The weather was against us which was a real shame but we still had a few thousand people on that front lawn braving the weather with their sandwiches and champagne. Then you're into Halloween, which is always popular, and then we're straight into Christmas. This year we’re doing ‘A Dickens of Christmas' and all the rooms look amazing.”
Peter: “Our new Lytham Hall shop also opened a month ago. We did have a little tiny shop but it was always an interim: now we've opened the main shop in a room that the volunteers used to use and it's been an enormous success, it's succeeded every expectation.”
Looking towards 2025 are there any events that you're already looking forward to or work you’re excited to start?
Peter “Conquering the Gardener’s Cottage is our main focus for 2025... Another wonderful thing that we've been working on now for two or three years is the south prospect garden, which we want to be absolutely outstanding, we want this to be of national importance eventually. You can restore things, plaster things, paint things and see the results quite soon but when it comes to Mother Nature, you have to be patient. So we're putting all the infrastructure into that garden now, we're well ahead of schedule and we hope to have that complete maybe in about four years.”
Paul: “There are some other really exciting things that are going to be happening, which are going to be revealed in January so we can't actually say anything about that yet. And look, the main thing I'd like to tell your readers is just take a look at our website and see what's coming up. There's a lot on there already and big new things get added daily. So it's lythamhall.org.uk.”
Is there something that Lytham Hall right now doesn't offer that you would love it to one day?
Peter: “We just strive to get bigger and better each year and give the best visitor experience. We now have around 250,000 visitors a year, I think when we came on board, that was around 20,000. I always call it mold to gold so we have gone from a moldy old dilapidated mansion to something now that is glowing and twinkling like a beacon, especially in the heritage world, and right to the point of even winning the Historic Houses Restoration Award, and that's been done through sheer hard work.”
Paul: “I think it's been really exciting as well that Lytham Hall now is part of the community now whereas for so many decades, it hadn't been. There's lots of meetings happening here; we do Park Run every week; there's lots and lots of different organizations and groups that love to use our parkland and come in and see our rooms; and of course the 300 plus volunteers.”
What does Lytham Hall mean to you and to the communities around you?
Peter: “The absolute world, we live and breathe it.”
Paul: “We've lived in Lytham since 97’ so the Fylde is definitely home and Lytham Hall itself has become such a massive part of our lives. It's so rewarding, no two days the same, you never know what's going to happen when you walk through that door and that's really exciting. It's not just a place of work, it's a vocation. and the people who we’ve met along the way and worked with the volunteers,the staff, it's just brilliant.”
Final question, why should people get involved in Lytham Hall events?
Paul: “Whether you're making a donation or you're coming along to an event, you know that you are supporting a local heritage charity and that you're helping further its future. Or if you enjoy coming here, you know we put on some really good events, and you have a right good night, you can just look at it that way. “
Peter: “Even from a volunteering aspect, if you come to Lytham Hall, you could have suffered a bereavement or it could be just respite that you need, you can come and meet new friends. There are so many stories where people were lonely and they've met such a wonderful hub of friends that tHey go out and socialize with, they feel they’ve have been born again. Also, when they do come and volunteer, whether it be in the kitchen garden or as a house guide, they're mingling and it's stimulating the brain which is really essential.
“But why should they support it? Because it's a magnificent heritage asset, the only grade one listed building in the entity of Fylde borough. And as a heritage asset, it's a thing of beauty, it’s a thing that needs protecting - when you've lost them, you've lost them. When you think that this provides 78 acres of free green space - it's a listed parkland- we want that to be there for the future, not just the house as well, so people can enjoy it free of charge. So this charity is not just looking after bricks and mortar, it's also looking after them green spaces that are so vitally important to us and our mental health in this day and age.”