When Agatha Christie came to Lytham Hall

A volunteer at the Hall was watching the TV series Alan Carr’s Adventures with Agatha Christie when he noticed a photograph of Lytham Hall.

Comedian Alan was seen on the settee at Agatha’s home, Greenway in Devon, accompanied by Agatha’s grandson Mathew Pritchard.

The pair were talking through Agatha’s scrapbook of her early life when she was around 20 years of age back in 1910 and images of Agatha outside Lytham Hall were featured, along with veteran cars and other guests.

“Our archives have never flagged up anything relating to any visit from Agatha Christie,” said Peter.

“So you can imagine our excitement that the world’s bestselling author of all time actually came to Lytham!

“The period would be the time of Squire John Talbot Clifton and his wife Violet, who had married three years previously. Their eldest son Harry would have been around two or three years old.”

Deputy general manager Paul Lomax quickly contacted the Christie Archives at Greenway, now owned by the National Trust, for more information.

They revealed that Agatha had joined a golfing party from Cambridge who had no doubt been visiting the area due to the sporting facilities it had to offer.

The team at Greenway insinuated that the ladies were probably entertained at the Hall, while keen golfer John Talbot Clifton accompanied the males of the party to the club at Fairhaven.

"The Greenway team also asked whether there were any eligible bachelors who may have been on the scene at Lytham, but we doubt this was the case as the Hall was the home of newlyweds” said Peter.

“One thing we do now know for sure is that one of the most famous writers of all time – the Queen of Crime herself – was here enjoying life in the finest Georgian house in Lancashire.”

Agatha Christie, who died aged 85, in 1976, wrote 66 detective novels, including creating fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.

She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End since 1952 and is coming to Blackpool’s Grand Theatre in June..