Darwen Central Conservative Club and Public Hall, Church Street, Darwen

CONSERVATIVE CLUB NEW BUILDINGS, CHURCH-STREET - The committee and members of the Conservative Association recently occupying rooms over the Manchester and County Bank, have this week removed into their new and commodious club premises, situated in Church Street and Church Bank Street, near to Holy Trinity Church. …..  The now completed building is built in a substantial manner in the Gothic style and both inside and outside reflects great credit upon the parties who have had charge of the several departments. The elevation to Church Street is faced with parpoints; which, along with the whole of stonework and dressings, have been obtained from local quarries. The whole of the windows have bold splayed sills and heads, and each window is recessed six inches to give a bolder effect to the budding. The elevation facing Church Bank Street is built of brick with stone heads and sills to correspond with those of the main front. All the windows are glazed with the best sheet glass, except the lower squares of the windows to reading room, conversation room, and private billiard room facing Church Street, which are glazed with best fluted glass. The internal finishings and roofs are of SL John's yellow pine, stained and varnished. The building is oblong on plan and is well arranged to meet the requirements of the club, and thoroughly well lighted throughout. On the ground floor there are two main entrances in Church-street. Ou passing through the main entrance in the centre oi the facade the visitor is confronted with well-designed vestibule screen doors with side lights, constructed of the best pitch pine, varnished, and hung with Smith's patent Climax springs. The vestibule and entrance hall are each 7 feet in width. Leading out of the hall on the right we reach the private billiard room 32 feet by 24 feet for two tables, with which are the usual lavatory and other conveniences. To describe this room now we shall not require to go into detail as to the others as they are all very similar. The ceiling and cornices, which are massive, consist of bold and well-designed plaster moulds running all round and the lofty walls are delicately tinted in distemper. In the centre pf the space between the wood beams there are plaster centre flowers which are very ornamental and add greatly to the effect of the room. The lighting and ventilation of the rooms are all that could be desired and we are confident will add greatly to the comfort of the members. The windows inside the rooms have moulded architraves and the window backs from floor line to sill are formed in three panels, filled in with moulded and v-jointed tongued and grooved boards and there is also a moulded skirting round the room. 

From the hall access is also gained to the ordinary billiard room (50 feet by 24 feet for three tables) and on the left to the reading room, conversation room, manager and secretary and committee room. From the secretary's room a private staircase leads up to the large lecture hall and ante-rooms on the first floor. The reading room which measures 33 feet by 18 feet is neat and commodious, well suited to its purpose and great care has been taken to arrange it so as not to be in close proximity with the billiard rooms. On reaching the main entrance to the lecture or concert hall on our left, we ascend the stairs which are in two flights; on our right is a second entrance to the ordinary billiard room. Underneath the first flight of stairs provision is made for entrance to the cellar (32 feet by 24 feet). On the level of the first landing arrangement is made for a ticket office so that at any time when the hall is used for concerts or entertainments this would prove a great advantage and convenience. The lecture hall measures 75 feet by 48 feet 9 inches wide, 24 feet from floor to ceiling and 34 feet from floor to top of ridge and is a finely proportioned and lofty room with a gallery at the west end and platform and ante-rooms at the east end. It will comfortably hold 1,100 persons. At the west end and underneath the gallery the is a store-room or refreshment bar 25 feet by 11 feet with double sash window frames the whole length of the room on one side and every convenience attached. The roof, which is ceiled at the level of the top side of the tie-beams is of hammer-beam construction, stained and varnished with the iron bolts and bands painted light blue and the ends resting on stone corbels. The principal rooms are heated by hot water.

The several works have been executed by the following: General contractor James Pilkington of Darwen; heating apparatus, Messrs Seward, Preston; plumbing, glazing and gas fitting, Mr J Knowles, Darwen, plastering and painting, Mr R. Jackson, Darwen. [Darwen News - Saturday 17 July 1880 page 3]

Opened on 17 July 1880, the ground floor of the building formed the Conservative Club with the public hall at first floor level. In 1919-1920 an extension was built on to Church Bank Street and the public hall converted into a cinema, with the screen at the opposite end to the original platform and the seating reversed. Later converted into a bar. Destroyed by fire 2012.